I think FFXIV should be more political actually

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Originally Posted by Iscah

Maybe I'm just overjustifying something that shouldn't be justified (I do agree it feels like he got off too lightly) but I think there may a difference that Bakool is just young enough that the situation is treated as "teenager made stupid decisions and needs a chance to do better" while Fordola is being treated as an adult?

I'll be very interested when we get the fourth lorebook (if not sooner) to find out how old Bakool is supposed to be. The game is vague about it but I suspect he's younger than he seems, particularly as there are a few characters throughout the game who are young-teenage and treated as quite mature.

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I'm pretty sure he's way younger than he seems, but terrorism is terrorism I'm afraid. Valigarmanda's fire has been burning for 80 years straight and killed thousands in the past. I'm not saying he needs to rot in jail, not at all, but putting him in the city's guard seems really tone-deaf to me... it's not hard to imagine how the families of victims would have felt seeing the beast that killed their loved ones free once again. His only saving grace would be if no one except those involved in the rite knew it was his doing, but if I was a Yok Huy I wouldn't trust this guy to protect anyone as a guard. I guess it could have made some interesting tensions between the Yok Huy and Tuliyollal.


I like the idea of his character, he had a lot of potential, but the writers did him (and most other characters) really dirty imho. It's really a shame.

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Originally Posted by BlisteringFrost

I'm fine with a political intrigue in the story. But there's a line where it's used to write a compelling story and when it's used to further an agenda. Yoshi loves his political intrigue, it's why most of ARR ---> SHB has it. But the line is clearly in the sand too. No agenda pushing. Just a story.

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100% this ^. Political storytelling should be done. People confuse "get the politics out of my games" with what people actually want, which is nuanced political discussion and intrigue. Not blatant personal agenda pushing and propaganda. I'm currently in the patch content of Heavensward and for the most part have really enjoyed the base expansion story and the little I've gotten to of the post-campaign, patch storyline.

Power levels are too high, characters are too boring, story isn't political enough

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Originally Posted by Darkshade

Power levels are too high, characters are too boring, story isn't political enough

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Personally, I find it funny that Zoraal Ja is a higher level than Zodiark and Hydelan, lol.

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Originally Posted by Empyr

By far one of the biggest weakness of Dawntrail is Tural's lack of political turmoil. Despite Alexandria popping up next to them and staging an attack resulting in multiple casualties including the Dawnservant, who reportedly is a very beloved figure, there's next to no tensions running in Tural, and that's not including it's utopian backstory solved by The Dawnservant suprisingly easy from what we end up hearing. Obviously things have settled because of our actions at the end of 7.0, but there is very little to suggest there is trauma from this event outside of exploring how Turalians caught up in the dome acclimate back to Tural.

I feel like in the olden days, the msq would definitely try and explore this. Such as having a faction grift on Zoraal Ja's idealogy despite him leading the attack. Maybe they wouldn't know, or perhaps they would and do so anyway because they want power and don't care about people. Wuk Lamat as a character always expresses how she wants her people to live in peace and happiness, but seeing her people fall to hate and calling for war could have lead to some interesting avenues to explore. Like how empty promises and platitudes without action is a disservice to those we've lost and disrespects their legacy and in turn, could have enhanced Solution Nine's theme of remembering the dead in parallel, through bringing together people to remember those who have long passed.

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You really hit the nail on the head with this. I'd like to add that I suspect a big reason why the Dawntrail MSQ didn't try to explore these kinds of themes is because the writers tried to fit way too much into the time they were given. Only the first half of 7.0 and some of 7.1 has Tural as the main focus while the rest is focused on Alexandria, and it feels like this has resulted in the writing of both sections suffering.

You can tell Tural was written as a one-time destination because the only political conflicts are either quickly dealt with or might as well be irrelevant. Right now the Scions and everyone else seem fine with letting Alexandria keep Tuliyollan territory they took by force. They just had us beat a few bad guys who are responsible for all the bad things so we could move on to somewhere they actually care about.

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Originally Posted by Raoabolic

"THOSE ANIMALS CONSENTED TO THE ROBOTIZATION AND HAPPY TO WORK IN EGGMAN LAND! THEY TOLD ME THEMSELVES!"

-Dr. Robotnik

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Where was the Warrior of Light when Dr. Eggman marched on Eorzea?

...I'd play that game.

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Originally Posted by RedLolly

It does feel in character for Wuk Lamat to hear how legitimately messed up Bakool Ja Ja's backstory is and just let him off the hook.

He is the only candidate I found interesting and I still find it curious that he was even in the contest when he's technically just a rando and constantly cheated the rights, so I can't help but conclude that Galool Ja Ja put high value on blessed twins despite himself and being fully aware of the eugenics and sheer quantity of dead babies involved to make one set. (And the fact the other three candidates were his children he raised.)

But Wuk Lamat and Koana both come off like a teenagers 99% of the time they are on screen.

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I feel like you're forgetting the important scene where Galool Ja Ja confides in us that this contest isn't really a contest. He openly admits that he doesn't think any of the candidates, even his children, are ready. All if this was just to gauge if any of them at least had potential.

Even if Bakool Ja Ja won through cheating, he still wouldn't have become king. Same with his children. He wanted to see them grow through this competition.

I'm great with political intrigue in my fantasy games/stories. What I don't like is when said political intrigue is issues ripped right out of RL. Like someone copy/pasted a debate they read on social media between a liberal and a conservative. A fantasy world, in my view should have wholly FANTASY issues or issues that make sense in the setting. Modern Earth social debates as an example, feel really out of place for me in games with wholly fantasy dynamics.

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Originally Posted by Aonns

Where was the Warrior of Light when Dr. Eggman marched on Eorzea?

...I'd play that game.

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Better question, where was Sonic when the Garlieans were forced up north by the great nations?

I'm just sayin', an Eorzia Fronters game mitebcool.