Is anyone else fed up with the single player trend of FF14?

[Valic]

I'd say it's kind of hard for everyone NOT to be "THE WoL" when everyone does the same quests. That's why I think it's best that the story does not try to account for the other players except as just generic companions. Every player sticks to their own version of the story where their current character is the only WoL and has no need to be concerned about other players' characters.

Also, I don't understand this "Mary Sue" accusation. The WoL is definitely not a "Mary Sue" character if going by the historical example of that type of character as I understand it.

I mean, it was a detail I liked in Aion back before it went to garbage. The start of it gives you the whole "chosen one" nonsense but down the road it finally classifies you as just another soldier. Another rank in the battlefield. Not this goody 2 shoes that's different from everyone else. It was a nice way to mesh everyone back together in the later half of the game so everyone could be anything as far as the lore went. I'm not fond of "not trying to think about it" because it just comes off as odd to me. I'd like more of that concern for actual players than just the focus on me being the chosen one once again with the select NPC's that apparently I the chosen one am only ever able to communicate with or adventure with as it seems.


Maybe I shouldn't say Mary Sue, but they're still the arbitrary "you're destined to be the one" trope you see in every mmo story. Kinda why I liked HW and the beginning of ShB so much, it reminded me of how I'm just an adventurer... Not this god killing OP plot device. Being out in the woods asking for directions or just trying to get by in the cold snow.... Now it's like we're just reading a magazine waiting for the next "big calamity" for us to smash... ya know... again...

[linay]

I mean, it was a detail I liked in Aion back before it went to garbage. The start of it gives you the whole "chosen one" nonsense but down the road it finally classifies you as just another soldier. Another rank in the battlefield. Not this goody 2 shoes that's different from everyone else. It was a nice way to mesh everyone back together in the later half of the game so everyone could be anything as far as the lore went. I'm not fond of "not trying to think about it" because it just comes off as odd to me. I'd like more of that concern for actual players than just the focus on me being the chosen one once again with the select NPC's that apparently I the chosen one am only ever able to communicate with or adventure with as it seems.

The thing is, "just another soldier" doesn't work when you're facing powerful enemies, and Final Fantasy is known for having powerful enemies. Specifically to FFXIV, the player character has to be able to face primals without being tempered. That doesn't work if the player character is "just another soldier." And since that's the case, it's nice to develop the reason why the player character is special. That's why the reveals in Shadowbringers are great because they're like payoffs for the player character's story.

I would say it's the opposite of "not trying to think about it" because it's acknowledging the player character's role in the story and actually thinking through the ramifications of what it means for the player character to be able to do all the quests. "Just another soldier" facing against powerful enemies would actually be an example of "not trying to think of it" when you have to ask yourself why this regular soldier is here doing this this heroic stuff and defeating this dangerous enemy.

Maybe I shouldn't say Mary Sue, but they're still the arbitrary "you're destined to be the one" trope you see in every mmo story. Kinda why I liked HW and the beginning of ShB so much, it reminded me of how I'm just an adventurer... Not this god killing OP plot device. Being out in the woods asking for directions or just trying to get by in the cold snow.... Now it's like we're just reading a magazine waiting for the next "big calamity" for us to smash... ya know... again...

That's a matter of, either proper setup beforehand, or progressive revelation afterward. That's why I said it's nice that we might be getting some information about the WoL in Shadowbringers.

Also, you can't be "asking for directions" or "trying to get by" forever unless you want to only be tasked with killing 10 squirrels forever. To be fair, the player character still does that type of quests, but as the WoL gains fame and becomes more integrated with the world, the WoL will be assigned more important tasks. That's just part of character progression.

[Valic]

*snip*

I feel they could still easily write WoL and every other character to obtain or become something that allows them to be a bit more equal at least. I also played FF8 so... maybe my mentality is different in terms of thinking about how anyone should be considered an adventurer/hero and be able to face off against big bads. It doesn't need to be forever that this happens, but personally when I find myself teleporting from map to map and flying from A to B without even having to check my map anymore and I'm just gonna overcome another big bad again when I get there and know it.... Idk... It's why I appreciated the post SB quests where we raided the king's tomb in that lost city area. We were doing it because we love adventurer, fame, glory, riches, it's the basis of why we go out into the world and explore. Not... YOU, OH' SACRED WARRIOR, MUST DEFEAT YET ANOTHER EVIL THAT THREATENS OUR PLANET... Like we're Superman. Lemme be Clark Kent for a while ya know?


I get story telling purposes but there's scenes I value so much more because they put you on the level of the average adventurer sometimes. Like the meal you have with Aymeric, I'm sure it's an honor considering he's the commander of the Ishgardian nation now but.... we literally just sat down, chat about our adventurers, and boast about wanderlust for a lil bit. Not how I champion god-like beings and ascend into various planes of existence. I want to feel that more often in the story, it feels awkward when you get these singular voice acted dialogues directly solely at you, despite you having 7 other people right behind you. Take Praetorium as example, it's all about "you" but I guess he doesn't see the 7 other party members right with me?...