Spoiler-ful advice to SE's Writing Team for Future Content.

[KrenianKandos]

...if you guys think this game is bad for killing people, I could scarcely see you guys even survive reading Game of Thrones, much less watch it.

After that series of books, NOTHING is off the table anymore for anything I ever read or play.

[SenorPatty]

I feel the problem though, is that because this keep using this particular emotional stake repetitively, we'll become desensitized.

Its kind of like how I react now when I watch Game of Thrones. I don't get shocked if someone dies. I can get kinda pissed if they were my favorite but I can't react the same way I did a couple seasons back anymore.

It also reminds me of Dragon Nest. Every favorite character I knew in that game pretty much died. I don't know if they ever finished the story there but I'm pretty sure if they introduced a npc, it probably died too.


What can you do? The setting is centered around the never ending supply of primals we have to defeat and people just keep dying in the line of fire because of it. I'm actually surprised Estinien survived the ordeal.

[TaleraRistain]

I actually really liked that the sultana didn't die due to Lolorito's meddling because it makes me hate that manipulative little slime even more. He makes a really good foil to Nanamo since you have the two extremes of Ul'dah there - compassion and capitalism.

I was surprised they didn't kill Estinien, but again glad. That would have been really trite. The idea of someone freed by death from the horrible things they've done is long played out. I was glad to see him live because now he has to make up for all of that and traverse a different path.

I think that's what bugs me about the latest death. It felt incredibly trite and forced and it really didn't buy us that much time at all. I felt it was very egregious. I'm okay with well-placed death. Haurchebro was a knife through my heart. But there have been a couple where I was just like "Really, SE?"

[Chiramu]

...if you guys think this game is bad for killing people, I could scarcely see you guys even survive reading Game of Thrones, much less watch it.

After that series of books, NOTHING is off the table anymore for anything I ever read or play.

I don't care for Game of Thrones, but death is necessary for story progression. If a certain Lalafell didn't die, Lyse would not be leading a revolution in Stormblood.

[NolLacnala]

Stop killing off your villains after giving them barely enough screentime to register them as mildly interesting.

I'd apply this to the primals. Ramuh left us with emotional baggage. The Warring Triad were just speed bumps.

[SaitoHikari]

It also reminds me of Dragon Nest. Every favorite character I knew in that game pretty much died. I don't know if they ever finished the story there but I'm pretty sure if they introduced a npc, it probably died too.

Oh hey, someone else from that game that I don't actually recognize immediately. And we're in the same server!

(You are... Actually right on the mark for what happens later in the story. At this point, the list of important plot NPCs actually allied with the player that are still alive is MUCH shorter than the ones that die, even excluding the ones that backstab you. It's become kind of a running gag, now that I think about it. I can actually sum up what happens, if I ever find you. Let's just say the lore these days is now painting a really depressing picture of the world, despite the bright and cherry aesthetics of it.)

[CyrilLucifer]

I'm really glad OP isn't on this writing team.

They barely have enough time to develop the recurring cast they have already.

Krile has had no development since her introduction, all that development has (very thankfully, to be honest) gone to Unukalhai; she's literally just a mouthpiece to tell us about the Echo, which Unukalhai could do better considering his true age and experience, and sell cute figures. Y'shtola is basically just a fountain for witty comments at this point and hasn't had a personal conflict outside of the loss of her body/sight, which didn't even develop her personality or count as inner conflict, since 1.0. Moenbryda had no development at all. After more than 2 years in-game, Yugiri has only now started having a strictly defined personality that amounts to more than "honor-driven foreigner who cares for her people."

It took until 3.4 for Urianger to finally get some development since 1.0. 3.4!

And then we have the GC leaders. Merlwyb and Kan-E-Senna only had tiny little scenes in Heavensward to remind us they exist. Raubahn is the rightful exception.

Thancred and Minfilia are obvious exceptions but to me it shows that SE isn't very good at handling a large cast. FFXI's story succeeded because it focused on such a small cast with each expansion.

Heavensward also highly benefited from having fewer characters in its main cast. If it requires killing off characters rather than throwing them away never to be seen again, so be it.

That being said, I do find senseless self-sacrifice to be overdone in this title.

[ErryK]

Stop killing off your entire cast of characters.

You are allowed to have a large cast of characters. There is no limit.

You are allowed to make the stakes high without killing your characters.

This is a video game, not a comic book.

That is all.

Wanna say that to George RR Martin?

[Chevronone]

I just really wanted Tataru to be the one leading the Lala shade at conclusion of 3.0.

I don't know what I would have enjoyed more, seeing that smiling unsuspecting Lala twist the knife into the back of the scions or all the salty tears from the community over that little plot twist.

[Astrus]

I'm inclined to agree that we had a remarkably low body count so far.
The thing I take issue with is how some of those deaths played out.
There's Gaius who barely had enough screentime to remind us that he's one of the main antagonists before he's just ...dead.
There's Moenbryda "my whole purpose is delivering the newest plot device, with that done I'll just keel over and die now".
There's Nabriales and Igeyorm. I still feel like their main purpose was giving us a token victory over the ascians.

A lot of the death just seems to be lacking impact for me, especially when they've done so much better elsewhere in the story.
There's obviously Haurchebro but there's also Edda and her party. As far as I'm concerned Edda's story blows a lot of main character death out of the water as far as emotions go.


As for the lastest "death" in the main cast, in my mind he's going to be Schrödinger's lalafell until I see a body.