[Spoilers] Noble Sacrifices (and the lack thereof)

[DPZ2]

Heck, even Tolkien only permanently killed off one of that fellowship crew ...

[Iscah]

I did think Thancred was dying after the fight with Ran'jit. There are the effects all through it that he's forcing himself beyond mortal limits to pull off this last desperate trick, and then the music that plays over his I-thought-it-was-a-death-scene is the bridge from 'Tomorrow and Tomorrow': "From those who've fallen, to those who'll rise..."

(Not that I wanted him to die - I'm quite happy that everyone survived - but I certainly thought it was happening at that point.)

There was also the battle instance in Lakeland fighting off the sin eater invasion, where he got injured fighting one of the angels, so I really thought he was a timebomb waiting to turn like poor Tesleen did. But it never paid off.

Honestly I think the story writer intended for him to die, but then the game designers said "wait, we need him to stick around or we don't have a tank for the trust system..."

Ryne taking a seemingly mortal blow from Emet; they even have a slow motion effect on this one for emphasis

He'd already similarly shot all the other Scions, so either everyone was dying or nobody was. Ryne's was just more important because she was supposedly the last chance to halt our transformation into a sin eater, but she couldn't reach us in time.

They do seem to be heavily hinting that Y'shtola and maybe even Urianger might stick around on the First. I could see Thancred staying for Ryne too.

I feel like any of the characters staying behind on the First is a very unsettling concept. Remember their physical bodies are still alive on the Source. How horrible would that be for the soul to never come back?

If anyone is going to "stay" in the First I certainly hope it involves a trip back to the Source to regain their bodies, after which the Exarch can resummon them properly like he did for us.

I dont wish death upon anyone really and I'm glad it wasnt Tia this time around because I really did liked him....

Just being nitpicky but it doesn't really work to shorten his name to "Tia" - it's not a surname or an individual name at all, it's a tribe rank that the vast majority of male Sunseekers have.

(But yes, I'm also really glad he survived! Hopefully it will remain that way throughout the patches.)

[Bright-Flower]

For Thancred himself, him dying there would have been fitting. But I think he was needed alive for Ryne's story arc if not his own. Though in a way it does advance his own with him treating her as her own person and a valued daughter figure independant of her ties to Minfilia.

Speaking of that battle...HOW did he do that? He literally can't manipulate aether right? I think he can't even use aetherytes? How did he turn invisible in a desert with no cover multiple times? I get whatever he was doing was putting a strain on him, but I was confused just as I was confused at him taking out that giant during the big ishgard tourney thing. I guess you don't need aether to do super feats of strength in the setting.

[Cilia]

For Thancred himself, him dying there would have been fitting. But I think he was needed alive for Ryne's story arc if not his own. Though in a way it does advance his own with him treating her as her own person and a valued daughter figure independant of her ties to Minfilia.

Speaking of that battle...HOW did he do that? He literally can't manipulate aether right? I think he can't even use aetherytes? How did he turn invisible in a desert with no cover multiple times? I get whatever he was doing was putting a strain on him, but I was confused just as I was confused at him taking out that giant during the big ishgard tourney thing. I guess you don't need aether to do super feats of strength in the setting.

Anything Thancred does is achieved through some manner of artifice or skill; in the case of his ability to evade Ran'jit, he was using an alchemical concoction that slowed his aetherial circulation to make him imperceptible to Ran'jit's senses. Since the latter appears to be half-Sin Eater like Vauthry, relying on aethersense makes perfect sense for him, as it allows him to see through illusions; by slowing his aetherial circulation Thancred is able to deceive that sixth sense of his, which Ran'jit heavily relies on. (The third time Thancred has to completely halt his aetherial circulation, which begins damaging his internal organs, to deceive Ran'jit's senses.)

And no, you don't need to be able to manipulate aether to perform superhuman feats in XIV's universe, it seems. Gaius is capable of killing Ascians without that same capability, if only their mortal guises.

[Sathona]

While this trend does bug me overall, I never saw the scene after Thancred's fight with Ran'jit as a death flag. Rather, it seemed metaphorical for the "death" of his hope in Minfilia surviving. The moment when he finally, fully, comes to term with her death.

When he fell, it seemed a mix of exhaustion and acceptance. That plus the tone of the "I'm glad to have been part of your life" line made me pretty sure he wasn't going to die.

Thancred needed to be there at the end too, for the compare-contrast of his dilemma as a microcosm for that experienced by the ancients.

This! I never thought he was going to die. Thancred built a resolve around the same fight,i felt it was obvious he wouldnt die!

[FrejyaAthenes]

Honestly, with all the people complaining about the lack of major characters dying, I wish they'd just do an Aerith-style death to satisfy them. Comes out of nowhere and solves nothing.

Character death =/= good storytelling.

Or Ysayle's back in HW. Did nothing to help us since we ended up fighting the Garleans as soon as we landed, didn't do anything for her character arc either and she's barely even remembered or recognized for it (at least Moenbryda got that eulogy from Urianger).

[Dualblade]

Or Ysayle's back in HW. Did nothing to help us since we ended up fighting the Garleans as soon as we landed, didn't do anything for her character arc either and she's barely even remembered or recognized for it (at least Moenbryda got that eulogy from Urianger).

That's more a consequence of the fact that the character most affected by her death (Estinien) has less screen time compared to the Scions. Given that it seems he'll have a larger role soon I expect more references to her death.

[FrejyaAthenes]

I think Y'shtolas 2nd 'accident' was quite good.
First, it didn't happen at 77 and then about 15h later we get a cutscene spoilung her survival for the next patch cycle.
It took less than 1h to resolve the issue.
Second, it was really important for giving Emech an opportunity to recieve 'some' trust, while also showing his powers.

I really liked that something which made us worry for several patches last time was undone with a 'single snap' (quite literally).

My main issue is that when she first did it she warped Thancred (albeit with complications) and got herself stuck in the Lifestream and now, with at least three extra years and no extra person to warp...she still gets herself stuck in the Lifestream. Hopefully the next time she does it she'll succeed with it otherwise it just makes me wonder why she keeps doing it if she clearly can't pull it off.

[Cilia]

Or Ysayle's back in HW. Did nothing to help us since we ended up fighting the Garleans as soon as we landed, didn't do anything for her character arc either and she's barely even remembered or recognized for it (at least Moenbryda got that eulogy from Urianger).

Ysayle's heroic sacrifice got the Gration off our backs. Without that, it's debatable as to whether the Enterprise Excelsior could have safely made it and docked in Azys Lla.

[Slatersev]

Ysayle's heroic sacrifice got the Gration off our backs. Without that, it's debatable as to whether the Enterprise Excelsior could have safely made it and docked in Azys Lla.

Also the quest chain in HW were we retrace are steps has us go back to Azys La and pay our respects to her, as well as seeing that Estinien had also done so and even brought her flowers.

Thats not even getting into how Tales of the Storm revealed that he named his new Dragoon armor Iceheart in memory of her.

Basically Estinien is the president of the Iceheart fan club and it was a ship to good for this cruel world.