Estinien in story

I know Yoshi said in a interview last year (november) that Estinien will join the scions in the future (probably 5.0). But he needs more screen time to work towards that. I really hope for more in Estinien in future patches. Who else wants more Estinien? xD

They don't really have much to cover considering his entire story arc for character development is over now. It is just the waiting time now for when he joins as he has now resolved all personal issues that would hold him back from joining.

I think there's a real risk that much of what makes him so popular and memorable ends up being lost if he becomes a fully fledged Scion rather than a lone wolf who occasionally crosses paths with the protagonists. It's dangerous to keep a character around for the sake of keeping them around - especially if they undergo drastic changes to justify their return to the spotlight. It just risks alienating those who admire the character for what they already are.

yes, yes, double yes... but to an extent? estinien is by far my Favourite character in the existence of this game (mostly why HW is my favoured expansion)... needless to say, i appreciated his little cameos from time to time in SB, BUT as theo said, i would prefer it to stay that way, with occasional check ups on him which i'm sure we will get. truthfully, i would hate for him to be a full time scion bc as i remember reading, estinien wouldn't be one to immerse himself in this brotherhood of heroes, and more or less act like a free agent, and appear when he feels he's needed. for me, that's enough... so long as he gets to stay alive.

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Originally Posted by Theodric

It just risks alienating those who admire the character for what they already are.

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I think the problem there is you're kind of ignoring his original story arc. His original story arc was 100% vengeance against Nidhogg and how that desire for vengeance has been corrupting him since childhood. And now with the eyes dealt with, likely permanently this time, there's no real way to keep him as he is and still have him make appearances.

True we do have the matter with that dark energy that enveloped him when he destroyed the cannon to question but beyond that without his character changing drastically for him to find a new meaning in life they would literally have to reduce him to essentially a deus ex machina character who cameos just cuz every two patches exclusively before screwing off again. Honestly we can have our opinions but I reckon that's a fate worse than having his character change and develop further to accommodate being a scion.

Although that being said I don't think Estinien would really need to change all that much. Give him some soul searching, maybe a desire to protect Ishgard or something, and bada bing bada boom you have all you need to justify him joining the Scions.
Even then joining might be the wrong word seeing as Alphinaud is liable to practically adopt him into the Scions anyway.

He can still be a lone wolf type character, he's just a lone wolf type character who occasionally tells Alphinaud that the warrior of light needs to smack a fool in Ishgard for one reason or another.

As long as he doesn't send me on errands all over Eorzea through a linkpearl, he is welcomed to join the Scions.

I am interested in Estinien returning to the MSQ, but I hope they take the time to actually build up his motivations. It would certainly take some new development for him to join the Scions instead of returning to Ishgard. Alternatively, his arc could continue in the Dragoon quest-line and he could make cameos in the MSQ. That said, it would be a bit odd for him to be completely absent from Stormblood's patch series after his cameos in Stormblood. I'm not expecting Estinien to have any contributions to the MSQ until 4.3 at the absolute earliest.

It's good for the Scions and Co. to have that one character that does their own thing; they're able to find things out as a single person that an organization of people can't. And yes, this does mean they're a bit of a Dues Ex Machina. But Estinien isn't the only character that's like this. Urianger has had this role ever since he was introduced, only he's providing information/artifact Dues Ex Machina. Estinien is providing physical prowess Dues Ex Machina and to be honest, it's nice to see someone else other then the WoL in playing this role for the Scions.

I could potentially see Aymeric requesting him to assist the Scions with certain things down the road as a sort of Ishgardian emissary to their cause. Given that Aymeric himself has plenty of duties to attend to at Ishgard as well as the Alliance, and he probably wouldn't be able to spare Lucia's aid for any extended period of time, Estinien is probably the person Aymeric would trust most with that sort of thing with the capacity to provide the Scions with long-term assistance.

Even with Nidhogg and his eyes gone for good now, I think there is still room for Estinien to develop, maybe more so now than before. He has to redefine himself and what he wants to do now that his previous chapter of life has had closure, and I'm sure this would be more of an incentive for Aymeric to suggest he work with the Scions. I do like the idea of him being somewhat more independent though, but I think even then he could probably at least learn to work together with the rest of the Scions occasionally. I definitely need more scenes with him and Alphinaud though. While the lone wolf aspect has appeal, I'm also a sucker for character arcs when loners gradually make friends and start placing more value on those relationships, cliché though the trope might be.

Wasn't part of his arc in HW learning to deal with working in a group, though? He was more or less a solo actor despite technically being a part of Ishgard's military up until he decided to travel with the WoL's party in Heavensward, and I felt the story made a point to show that he was softening towards them over time.

As he is currently, he's really perfectly poised to join the Scions for several reasons.

1. Two people with whom he developed pretty close relationships are members, and he was shown in SB to at least be thinking about them, even if he was probably mainly motivated by tracking down Nidhogg's eyes. I forget the precise line, but when he destroys the canon he mentions the WoL by 'name' ('aibou', or partner, which is the epithet he uses to address the PC in voiced scenes).
2. He really shouldn't go back to Ishgard anytime soon; he attacked VERY publicly and there's likely to be a lot of resentment towards him for that. I'm sure Aymeric and the WoL would do their level best to make sure people knew he wasn't in control of himself at the time, and it wasn't his fault, but chances are it just isn't safe for him there right now.
3. The Scions need an Ishgardian representative. Every other major power, including Garlemald, has at least one person in the Scions to represent it. Even if the reps for the three original city-states were technically Sharlyans who happened to be working out of those areas (which also brings up the point of whether or not they're going to introduce someone to take over the Gridanian slot).

If he's still interested in making himself useful after finally destroying the last remnant of Nidhogg's power, lending his considerable strength to the Scions would be his best option at present. Of course, he's also done quite enough by anyone's standards, so I doubt anyone would blame him if he wanted to go find himself a quiet corner or Eorzea to settle down in and just farm popotos or raise chocobos for a while.

One of the major issues is that there's a rather bloated cast at the moment where the protagonists are concerned. We rarely have the main cast on screen together at the same time as a result - Y'shtola, Krile and Thancred were only present for a small portion of 4.0's MSQ's, for instance. I also have a hard time imagining someone like Estinien getting along with someone such as Lyse - he was very quick to point out the flaws in Ysayle's actions and line of thinking but would he do the same where someone like Lyse is concerned? If he remained silent, would it be true to his character or would it be plot convenience?

I liked the little adventure that Alphinaud, Arenvald and the Warrior of Light embarked on back in 4.1's MSQ's. I could see something like that happening with Alphinaud, Estinien and the Warrior of Light. With that said, though, 4.2 is almost certainly going to focus around the aftermath of Doma's liberation so I do not expect to see Estinien show up in anything other than a teaser during that time.

Cant I just make my own band of NPC adventurers and leave the scions? I could totally see Alphy, Alisea, Estinien Arenvald and my character as an awesome band of adventurers. (Let a girl have her dreams q_q)

I only want him back in the story and with the scions if that doesnt mean that they will kill him for some emotional impact...if that would be the end goal for him than he should gladly just stay out of the story and be save. Maybe he could be the link between the scions and Ishgard without completely joining both sides thus still staying free of it?