Your favorite villain pre-Shadowbringers?

[Super_Bee_Brian]

I'm sure new villain/s will be introduced in Shadowbringers. But before that, who is your favorite villain and WHY?

[Hunky]

Viceroy Yotsuyu, Baroness Melisie, and Lakshmi.

What I appreciate about Yostuyu and Melisie is that they both revel in their villainy. They are unapologetic about their evil actions, and they are willing to cut down any who stand in the way of their goals, all while maintaining an air of elegance and sophistication. And to watch that veneer of calmness dissipate never ceases to be fascinating.

One of the most impressive moments for me was when Yotsuyu was willing to bring down the Doman Palace on everyone's head, including her own, to ensure that the rebels would fail. "No one leaves! Not you, or anyone else." Watching her spiral into that deep level of self-destructive insanity, motivated by this all-consuming hatred, was exciting.

Baroness Melisie is calculating and executes her plans with precision. We witness Melisie use her position in society to manipulate and further her own agenda without any remorse. She is relentless, and will stop at nothing to maintain what she believes should be the status quo, no matter how depraved or heretical.

Lakshmi is also amazing. Whereas most primals threaten to destroy you for noncompliance, Lakshmi entices victims with promises of happiness and peace. She is an anti-villain, a deceptively malevolent goddess. Whereas other primals are terrifying in appearance, her regal and serene appearance would suggest that she is a nurturing and benevolent deity, but that is far from the truth.

[Marxam]

Rowena.


Seriously, how badly in-debt is Gerolt that we had to go to Eureka to help him pay it off?

[Pheryx]

Karasu from the ninja storyline

[Berteaux_Braumegain]

Gaius, I suppose. I was disappointed we didn't get to talk with him more in 2.0.

Karasu from the ninja storyline

Does he really count as a villain?

[TheGrimace]

I like Regula van Hydrus a lot. Sure, he didn't work for our team, but he knew where his priorities were and wasn't afraid to put his grievances aside for the greater good.

I also like Gaius a lot for similar reasons. Gaius may be a pragmatist who values strength to lead above all else, but I think that's what made him interesting. By subjugating Eorzea, he really thought that was the most effective way to end the "primal menace." If anything, his invasion of Eorzea just spurred the beast tribe to summon even more out of fear. If he succeeded, he very well may have prevented more Primals from being summoned, but at the cost of individual freedoms. Given how Ala Mhigo turned out, I'd say we made the right choice to stand against him.

[Edax]

Lady Iceheart. Getting me to feel so many strong emotions from a scene with no words was an incredible accomplishment for an MMORPG. The writing was very strong with Ysayle.

[Spiriel_Basanda]

Oh, this one's easy. Grynewaht.

As a villain, he's a simple guy. He doesn't have some complex plan to take over or destroy the world, he's not looking to get super rich from conquest, nothing. His goal and motivation is really easy to understand. Grynewaht JUST wants to kill the WoL, and his only reason for this is because he just really, REALLY hates the WoL. That's like, old school villain. Hero vs Villain with very little rhyme or reason, just because that's the way it's always been.

[TabrisOmbrelame]

I don't for my opinion. I think every villain from the game just have reasons to do what they do.

I forgot about Gaius I'm sorry
Nidhogg wish to get revenge over humanity
Yotsuyu hate her people and wish to dominate them because of her sad past
Zenos wish to face a worthy opponent (remind me a little of Lu Bu in dynasty warriors by moment)

As for the ascient... They are just like "hey people! We're going to make shit so you can shit on us be cause we are shitty guys!"

[Mansion]

I loved Yotsuyu and Fordola in Stormblood. They had a lot of character development and interesting personalities (more than Lyse actually, which is a bit sad), even if JRPG tends to be always same-y in regards of character types.
Although Fordola could have got more focus after 4.1, but I'm still hoping for her to come back in 4.5

Can't say the previous villains have been that remarkable before Stormblood for me.