What's the point with that quite lackluster story in Endwalker?

I don't really think it's a case of people overanalysing the story. The game bends over backwards to highlight how story focused it happens to be and locks the bulk of content behind the MSQ's.

I don't think it being an MMO holds it back either. TESO manages to have a lot more focus on worldbuilding, has ten playable races with distinct lore and also manages to give plenty of material for the likes of the Reachmen and Maormer as well.

Personally I'd like more focus on consistent worldbuilding and characters behaving in a way that makes sense for their circumstances and perspective rather than being artificially fine with whatever happens. I don't care much for 'rule of cool' where everything is flash and no substance. That's precisely why I stopped playing World of Warcraft - but even then, I'll concede that at least the stakes felt high in that setting.

I want more in the way of fanservice for the stuff I like instead of the game using Twitter to promote a minion saying 'THIS IS THANCRED' or a bunch of lopporits shaking their behinds on a stage that looks straight out of a modern day concert. Certainly, neither of those things were what would grip me back in the days of ARR when I first started playing FFXIV.

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Originally Posted by Vahlnir

There really wasn't much of an anti Emet-Selch/Ascian crowd. If anything, people felt bad for having to kill the guy and doom an entire race.

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I only felt bad for him until we learned about about Venat. Now the two are no different to me, both did what they felt was right but were wrong for doing it.

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Originally Posted by Millybonk

• The mighty Zodiark, which has been build up as this mighty(evil) entity over several expansions, turns out to be nothing but filler trash for the first Endwalker trial
• The true cause of the Final Days is a pet-project from an ancient which goes mad after observing countless dead world and possibly causing the death of several world by projecting negative emotions unto them, and is thus dead-set on bringing despair to every world, upon which said ancient goes mad and is now letting her run her course to test humanity if they can withstand/fight despair
• Venat, who hasn't had her memory wiped + still remembers you from being in Elpis, quite apparently doesn't lift a finger to learn about Dynamis herself or to mobilize the other ancients to end Meteion then and there, and instead chooses to turn herself into Hydaelyn, sunder the world and the inhabitants, thereby forcing them to live with and face despair and gambling that their resilience against despair might be enough to face Meteion one day

Really?
This is the best SQ could do in terms of story after ShB?

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SOMEONE didn't actually pay attention to the story or they'd know that the ancients had TOO MUCH AETHER to be able to manipulate dynamis. Which is why she sundered everyone to begin with: Knowing that only by doing so, would man ever hope to interact or call upon dynamis in times of need.

If Zodiark wasn't killed, the Ascians would have won. He was weak, he was only partially reformed, and Fandaniel had a plan: To have Zodiark slain so that the Ascians would lose, and The Final Days would rain down upon Etheirys. Without Zodiark's death, you wouldn't have the (AWESOME) story that we have now.

Reading comprehension: It isn't for everyone.

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Originally Posted by Angellos

SOMEONE didn't actually pay attention to the story or they'd know that the ancients had TOO MUCH AETHER to be able to manipulate dynamis. Which is why she sundered everyone to begin with: Knowing that only by doing so, would man ever hope to interact or call upon dynamis in times of need.

If Zodiark wasn't killed, the Ascians would have won. He was weak, he was only partially reformed, and Fandaniel had a plan: To have Zodiark slain so that the Ascians would lose, and The Final Days would rain down upon Etheirys. Without Zodiark's death, you wouldn't have the (AWESOME) story that we have now.

Reading comprehension: It isn't for everyone.

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https://i.imgur.com/Jb20nV4.jpg

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Originally Posted by MikkoAkure

Where were you when that guy made a whole re-write where she's a crazed murderer? Or just a couple of posts above this one:





The posts above mine say otherwise.

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1 comment = representation of entire thread

go home guys, she's solved it, game's over

I see that someone has brought up my rewrite of the MSQ, which interested people can find here.

As I stated:

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The following is a fanmade story concept that seeks to visualize what a potential Garlemald expansion would have been like, followed by the events of a rewritten Endwalker. The key differences in this story are the expanded upon imperial territories, expanded upon Unsundered World, new characters, and revisions to pre-existing characters, along with more unfiltered moments in the story. I made an effort to extend an olive branch by not outright deleting characters who I viewed as ineffective in the original Endwalker MSQ, instead giving them alternate roles in the storyline that I felt suited them better. Naturally this does contain or allude to spoilers from events across the entire game’s MSQ.

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I feel that I did the best I could do to deliver a story that respected both the best of EW's ideas along with the overall state of the world prior to this expansion. I re-imagined Venat as a villainess based upon the image that the game had painted of her in late Shadowbringers. You don't have to agree with my interpretations of things, but I think I did an ok job.

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Originally Posted by Lustre

1 comment = representation of entire thread

go home guys, she's solved it, game's over

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The posts I quoted were just from today.

You haven't been here for long if you think that people haven't been simping for Ancients or wanting Venat to be a villain. The OP for the EW rewrite even said they wrote her as one in the post above this.

I'm not really in the business of policing what other people say or do on the forum. Nor have the people in this thread ever operated as a hive mind who all share the exact shame opinions on every front no matter how hard a certain bunny over on the lore forum tries to push her strange theory about posters here being my alt accounts.

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Originally Posted by PawPaw

https://i.imgur.com/Jb20nV4.jpg

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Having good taste isn't for everyone either.

Venat is an antagonist, she's just not treated as one. Sorry, you don't get to enact racial cleansing, spare the very people you know will cause rejoinings, compromise the integrity of the planet, all the souls upon it, and tie the fate of 13 (originally) other shards to its survival and not objectively be considered an antagonist in terms of the world's history. Literally the only reason she's not is because she helps the WoL, ignoring that she put all her eggs in the WoL's basket and it's in her own self interest to ensure nothing bad happens to them. (Also ignoring that the WoL existing means she tore her protégé's soul apart not to mention condemned Ardbert.)

Having to reiterate this because apparently even after almost 700 pages it still needs to be said.

I'm not claiming she's malicious and evil either since I know that's coming next. The road to Hell is paved with good intentions. She can be well meaning and still responsible for heinous and unforgivable crimes against mankind (both unsundered and sundered) for the supposed 'greater good'. The only difference is FFXIV tried to gaslight their way out of it.