Awfully weak story... or is it? [WARNING:SPOILERS]

[Durthane]

Gaius was not a good man, he was a monster along with anyone else involved in the occupation of Ala Mhigo. Any occupation force and it's commanders that do what they did to the civilian and especially the female populace forfeit any claim to honor or good intent. My only regret about killing the guy was I hadn't leveled Mnk so I could beat him to death the right way.

On the whole the story was decent, it was the mind numbing amount of filler that had me hating allot of it, especially Coerthas.

[Enkidoh]

Gaius was not a good man, he was a monster along with anyone else involved in the occupation of Ala Mhigo. Any occupation force and it's commanders that do what they did to the civilian and especially the female populace forfeit any claim to honor or good intent. My only regret about killing the guy was I hadn't leveled Mnk so I could beat him to death the right way.

On the whole the story was decent, it was the mind numbing amount of filler that had me hating allot of it, especially Coerthas.

^This. Gaius is a megalomaniac only interested in conquest - in 1.0 he informed the player on Nael's plans to summon Dalamud simply because he wanted Eorzea intact for him to conquer. He slaughtered the Ala Mhigan Resistance in cold blood, shot the player's Path Companion and went to do the same to the player (luckily Yda deflected the shot with her bullet-proof knuckles).

Whether or not he was actually under the control of the Ascians at that stage was unclear though, given how little they were shown in 1.0. But what was plain was he was nothing more than a tyrant who only desired endless war and bloodshed and definitely has no sympathy from me due to his actions.

[BlueMage]

^This. Gaius is a megalomaniac only interested in conquest - in 1.0 he informed the player on Nael's plans to summon Dalamud simply because he wanted Eorzea intact for him to conquer. He slaughtered the Ala Mhigan Resistance in cold blood, shot the player's Path Companion and went to do the same to the player (luckily Yda deflected the shot with her bullet-proof knuckles).

Gaius stopped genocide. He doesn't want the people of Eorzea killed. He just wants people to be free from dictator-nobles and religious zealots. What a villain.

The resistance was trying to steal and airship to bomb and/or crash into a Garlean city. Are you saying you support people who steal flying vehicles and crash them into buildings?

Gaius' record is looking a lot cleaner than the bloodthirsty tyrants who rule the City States...

[Enkidoh]

Gaius stopped genocide. He doesn't want the people of Eorzea killed. He just wants people to be free from dictator-nobles and religious zealots. What a villain.

The resistance was trying to steal and airship to bomb and/or crash into a Garlean city. Are you saying you support people who steal flying vehicles and crash them into buildings?

Gaius' record is looking a lot cleaner than the bloodthirsty tyrants who rule the City States...

Stopped genocide? Rubbish! Tell that to the people of Ala Mhigo he continues to stomp under his jackboot. >< And the Resistance were trying to free their homeland - from HIS oppression!

It's stated time and again just how oppressive the Empire truly are. Eorzea might not be perfect, but it's close enough compared to life under the Empire.

[BlueMage]

Stopped genocide? Rubbish! Tell that to the people of Ala Mhigo he continues to stomp under his jackboot. ><

And the Resistance were trying to free their homeland - from HIS oppression!

Ala Mhigo was known as a belligerent military power who conquered their neighbors. The last time the Grand Companies were formed was to stop Ala Mhigo because they were trying to stomp Gridania under their jackboot. The "rightful government" of Ala Mhigo wiped out an entire religious order and made worshiping Rhalgr illegal and making the worship of The Spinner the state religion. Ala Mhigo was no better than Garlemald - they're just sore losers that someone bigger finally came along and did to them what they did to others. And even if Garlemald left, who would rule Ala Mhigo? The Ala Mhigans were slaughtering each other in the streets with their civil war before the Garleans arrived. And if you have a problem with killing Ala Mhigans, then you should hate your character, because all non-armored Garleans are Ala Mhigans. Gaius took over Ala Mhigo about 20 years ago. All those young soldiers are Ala Mhigans who were born and raised as Garleans.

You don't seem to have a problem either with the atrocities committed by Ishgard to it's own people (a brutal religious dictatorship that regularly executes people in brutal ways under false pretenses), or Ul'dah (where the soldiers regularly brutalize and extort their own people, a cartel rules the city, and their past of wiping out the nation of Sil'dah and seizing its land and wealth), or Limsa Lominsa (Admiral turned it into a police state and they've attempted genocide on the peaceful Kobolds to steal their land).

The Garleans aren't innocent or perfect, but they aren't any more evil than the people the players are fighting for.

[Divinemight]

The Garleans aren't innocent or perfect, but they aren't any more evil than the people the players are fighting for.

For being one of the 2.0 character, all your statement are pointless to us. As 2.0 characters are raised with their home city state, Garlean is an invader, and Garius is the enemy. We will kill him without mercy.

[BlueMage]

For being one of the 2.0 character, all your statement are pointless to us. As 2.0 characters are raised with their home city state, Garlean is an invader, and Garius is the enemy. We will kill him without mercy.

Actually, the NPCs point out various times in the story that the player characters aren't actually from Eorzea. They're outsider adventurers who are "willing to fight for a land they aren't from."