Ok so I appreciated the big moments in this patch story but I think it lacked some impact in the way it was told. Yes, I agree it felt rushed and forced/contrived to tick a bunch of checkboxes and move the story along with convenient plot devices.

Nero shows up in the right place and time and offers a very dangerous solution which we quickly accept. I wonder had he not interrupted us at Gridania during out meeting with the seedseer, what our heroes would have done about Shinryu. So we gain access and control over Omega really easily and just in time to counter Shinryu's escape. I know Nero is clever but maybe I expected such a powerful and important Allagan device to be protected by some heavy security measures and be more complicated to restore and use. We just kind of waved hands at terminals to gain control and then I guess the interface was very intuitive because we had no problem issuing commands with confidence. The Omega vs Shinryu battle was nice at least.

Would have liked more time with Yda for character development other than a handful of throwaway lines to cover her grief over recent events. Would have been more organic to really see her sorrow and anger burn and heighten emotions. Ideally there'd have been at least one flashback scene with the two sisters to accompany False Yda's reveal as Lyse. Show some of what their relationship with each other was like, the good times and the bad times. Just felt sudden how Lyse drops the mask and the charade, and doesn't really react to the news that Y'Stola and the gang knew her identity all along and never thought to inform her and discuss it with her before now.