Our passive characters and why the 2.55 story fails (BIG SPOILERS) (rant warning)

[Kiara]

Whatever our characters are from the humblest white mage to the most arrogant dragoon, they are all fighters, so the idea that a character at this stage in the plot would merely submit to arrest in the most obvious of trap conspiracies ever completely destroys any connection with my character.

Great points and I absolutely agree:

* We've taken down Nael Van Darnus, Gaius Von Baelsar, all of the Garlean Empire's most powerful military leaders, Ultima Weapon, Twintania, turned away ALL of the Primals (Extreme), and Bahamut and yet, magically we just meekly submit to a bunch of Uldahn PEON Soldiers?! Uh...

It's just silly and way beyond the suspension of disbelief.

Besides the OP's great plot point issues, some other ones that bugged me to no end:

* ALL of the Main Hero NPCs (Scions - Minfillia and on) just sit around and are so meek.

* Each of their Departures / Separation from us (fleeing) were SO FORCED. We're all running away just fine, and there's *NO* indication that, again, Regular, Average PEON Soldiers are catching up to us (they aren't), and yet...

"Hold up. We'll just STOP, and you guys go ahead. We'll hold them off and sacrifice ourselves." Seriously?

It's one thing if it was written in a way where, say, BATTALIONS of enemies trapped everyone, and it was desperate. But it wasn't! Just a few shots of soldiers chasing them (regular, weak soldiers).


* The one-by-one, "OK, my turn to sacrifice myself. Everyone else, you all go ahead!" just started feeling so TRITE and contrived. No emotion at all. (The animations were cool and the VFX, but seriously from a Story / Emotional Impact? It just felt SO forced and implausible.


* I "like" how Yda and Papalymo close a Gate *in the Chamber of Rule* area (upstairs Uldah Gold Court area), to hold off some soldiers, when we all know that it's JUST A CIRCULAR PATH, LOL. (Also the door we exited from for the Banquet is the same area we go to for Nanamo's Chamber, so technically where are we really running to?

As a player you've run around (in any direction) of that circular path so many times, that Gate isn't going to stop anyone. They could just run around in the opposite direction. LOL

* The Betrayal and Conspiracy as the events unfolded felt so ho-hum. Because ALL of the Protagonists (Scions, the Leaders of the 3 States (except Raubahn)) and yourself were seriously just apathetic, passive bystanders.

They just displayed some "shocked" faces or sad faces, and then? Just stand around and meekly get arrested by REGULAR, WEAK Uldahn Soldiers.

How did they fight off so many ferocious battles and threats across Eorzea? And yet get held and weakly submit to some common soldiers?

Lastly, I know it's for the story line, but in a world of Final Fantasy, where ANTIDOTES / Esuna / Raise / Resurrect spells and Phoenix Downs exist, a simple Poisoning and Perma-Death felt... eh. Not realistic.

(vs., say, Louisoux and him getting *obliterated* by Dalamud / Bahamut's Explosion at the end of 1.0. THAT, seems plausible, that "Yup, no Phoenix Down is going to work there. He's just evaporated.")

There are elements that I enjoyed and some of the camera angles and some aspects were enjoyable in this 2.55 Story / Cinematics.

But a lot of it fell flat, and could've been SO much better with just a bit more planning and execution (and addressing the issues the OP and others have brought up).

I really hope 3.0's Story improves dramatically, not from a Plot point-of-view, but from these passive issues and other plot conveniences / holes.

[Riepah]

Without a weapon? Have fun with that. And no, caster classes CANNOT cast without their focuses nearby.

You were sorely outnumbered, - as in for outnumbered 100 to 1. Does not matter how many you think you can cut down, you would have been overwhemed and killed, quickly as you were unarmed.

Raubahn won't be needing his 2nd sword anymore. As it so happens, the existence of Nanamo's cutscene in the CUL 50 quest heavily suggests that all class and crafting quests happen before this point in the story, so every Warrior of Light is also proficient with a sword. We weren't *really* unarmed - neither before we allowed ourselves to be taken into custody by Teledji's goons, nor after.
We were just "unarmed" because it was the only way to conveniently sacrifice other characters so we could run away. Take a look at that feasting hall - weapons are perfectly permitted there. And from an old cutscene, you can see that weapons are also permitted in the Sultana's chamber. Not to mention that we, as the Warrior of Light, are more than trusted by the Sultana and were at no point asked to surrender our weapon - because only a fool would go along with that. If the Sultana wants to talk to me, she'll either let me enter her chamber with my weapon, or she'll have to meet me elsewhere, it's that simple.

[Moqi]

You were sorely outnumbered, - as in for outnumbered 100 to 1. Does not matter how many you think you can cut down, you would have been overwhemed and killed, quickly as you were unarmed.

Thancred surely wasn't overwhelmed when they tried to get to him, he disposed of them and reached us. Also, everything that Riepah said. Nanamo would never have had any objections to me bringing my weapon along to talk to her, I didn't have it with me so they could justify me being captured.

[AdamFyi]

Thancred surely wasn't overwhelmed when they tried to get to him, he disposed of them and reached us.

Obviously, they only sent a few guards to apprehend him. The WoL is a much higher threat to them so most of their forces would have diluted there. The other Scions were in the banquet hall, so technically they're pretty much trapped.

[LaylaTsarra]

I personally found the new story pretty neat. I'm unhappy about having to wait for Heavensward to find out what happens. Awesome cliff hanger in my view.

[Moqi]

Obviously, they only sent a few guards to apprehend him. The WoL is a much higher threat to them so most of their forces would have diluted there.

Well if I were weaponless me and thus powerless (like folks are saying here), Thancred would have been much more threatening since he did have his weapons with him at the time, wouldn't he?

[Seig345]

Honestly, the storyline already has gaping holes in it to accommodate the fact that it's a game, not just a story on its own. For instance, EVERY time the story has you go through a Duty that requires other players, it brushes your fellow players off as "other adventurers" but YOU'RE the hero. Naturally, every player character is a Scion of the Seventh Dawn and all that, every player character is Minfilia's first choice to send out to blah blah blah. There's been a level of suspension of disbelief required from the start. We're trained by, taught by, and surrounded by NPC characters that, if actually outright killed in the story, die permanently. The story never acknowledges our (the adventurers) inability to outright die in this world. If you try to take that into account with the story, of course the story is going to fall apart, but the two simply don't mix.

I'd also like to point out that no one's character is a citizen of Eorzea at all. Even if you started your character in 1.0, your character creation starts you off as on your way in to the city that you chose, and at least once it is mentioned that both the old Warriors of Light AND the new (pre/post ARR) are defending a land that is not their own. The story never acknowledges you as a citizen of any of the three city-states, because you're an adventurer from elsewhere.

Alphinaud more or less recognizes his own huge failings after the whole kerfluffle. It's easy to point and go "ermagerd don't go in that next room!" when you're in the audience watching a rated R horror flick, which means something bad is inevitably going to happen, where-as in a real-world situation you don't hear evil suspicious music queue to tip you off that something's going down. In-world, each of these main characters have a LOT going on on their minds at all times, they don't benefit from the 4th-wall position of clarity every player of the game enjoys.

[Fyce]

I didn't have it with me so they could justify me being captured.

You are implying that if you had your weapon, you would've fight Teledji and his guards, maybe even kill him, one of the most powerful leader of the Monetarists and all cartels, who is accusing you of regicide.

I'll make it in simple words: you want to attack a leader of Ul'dah while being accused of doing a coup d'etat against said city.

So, firstly, that would be incredibly stupid, for obvious reasons.
Secondly, you character is the Warrior of Light, not Daredevil.

[Moqi]

You are implying that if you had your weapon, you would've fight Teledji and his guards, maybe even kill him, one of the most powerful leader of the Monetarists and all cartels, who is accusing you of regicide.

I'll make it in simple words: you want to attack a leader of Ul'dah while being accused of doing a coup d'etat against said city.

So, firstly, that would be incredibly stupid.
Secondly, you character is the Warrior of Light, not Daredevil.

I am implying none of that.

[AdamFyi]

Well if I were weaponless me and thus powerless (like folks are saying here), Thancred would have been much more threatening since he did have his weapons with him at the time, wouldn't he?

I doubt the guards even know of Thancred's battle prowess. Given that the WoL is more well-known for defeating the primals, they took him more as a threat.

I am implying none of that.

You kind of were implying as such. Don't deny it.

Even if we can't take down a Primal anymore, we can still kill a bunch of much more poweful foes than some Brass Blades and Crystal Bravers.