Quote Originally Posted by Cilia View Post
All I'm going to say on the subject is that killing off characters, while useful for emotional torque, can actually be detrimental in the long run; and as MMOs are designed to run for a long time with an expansive cast, might not be in the best interest of the story.

WoW's latest expansion, while bland gameplay-wise and lacking the "grey morality" so many people assumed it would have, is narrative-wise very compelling precisely because of the history behind the majority of the cast. That wouldn't be possible if a big chunk of the characters were killed off every couple expansions. There are major character deaths, but they are done only occasionally, and they have meaning (Varian's death in the prologue of Legion is one of the greatest Heroic Sacrifices I've ever seen).

I don't agree a lot of characters need to be killed off to illustrate what the stakes are. One or two, done well, should suffice.

That said, I'm still not sure how much we're going to be fighting the Empire in 5.0 - what we saw in the Shadowbringers teaser suggests our primary enemies will be agents of the Light, for whatever reason, so while it was the most logical conclusion before I'm not sure the Empire is going to be our center-stage antagonists past 4.5(5).
Geh. I am going to disagree with you in a lot of ways about WoW's latest expansion. It has totally destroyed the horde's old identity and much of the horde's narrative has characters acting out of character. That said, I think they handled Jaina's story very well.

However this is more about FF14. Honestly deaths are a fine tool if used effectively. You don't need deaths to have an effective or emotional story. I seriously doubt any of the main leaders are going to die since we know a war between the Allied nations and Garlemald will play a big role in 5.0 and potentially act as a precursor to a new Calamity. As for the Scions, I think they likewise are safe apart from potentially being 'Called'.

My current theory on 5.0 will be our character dealing with the fact they are kind of in a doomed if they do and doomed if they don't scenario. If they beat the Ascians it triggers a Flood of Darkness. If they lose it triggers a Calamity. The WoL/WoD needs to find a third option and it seems that option will require changing something in the past, 'rewriting history'. Since we see Thancred in the trailer my guess is that the past is where the Scions are getting 'Called' to.

I suspect 5.0 will have our character moving back and forward from the present day and the past, trying to achieve that third option and our becoming the Warrior of Darkness will less be us switching sides and more us replacing the Ascians and thus averting the Flood while allowing us to stop their machinations. How that is going to work is anyone's guess. Having the Echo I am betting will allow us to transition backwards and forwards in time.

It is clear we are still going to be friendly with the city states at least at the end of 5.0 because we know crafters and gatherers will have the rebuilding of Ishgard as their endgame content. I still think in the present day Garlemald will be the backdrop as out major enemy simply because even if Elidibus is somehow finished off in 4.5, we now have Solus holding the reins in Garlemald.

Its worth remembering that the teaser is only part of the full trailer. Do remember that the first Stormblood trailer didn't even have a whiff of Doma or the Far East and it was only in the later fanfest they dropped that bomb on us.