Would you enjoy an arc where the WoL/WoD goes rogue (5.0 spoiler within)

[Controller]

I think people are over thinking the WOL goes rogue thing. But then again I can't think of something like that working while taking in part that it's an mmo and SE would have to plan for all kinds of players on the front. Would I enjoy a plotline like this? Or something along the lines of my character going off beat for whatever reason? Would really depend on what that reason was. Like we didn't defunk when we were framed in 2.55 and were nearly put in jail or worst. We didn't defunk either when Zenos was all murder murder anime antag and wanted us to play street fighter with him. We also didn't defunk when Emet wanted us to get all the chaos white emeralds and turn super WOD for him to break the planet. So if none of those made us go off the beaten path then SE would have to come up with a really good reason for us to do so.

I think a better question would be to allow us a voice or more options in personas. But with the story they are telling us going off on our on isn't possible, it would literally break the plot. I'll tell you want I do want tho, I want a dating NPC option first before us going off script. Lyse was flirting super hard on me during Stormblood and I want to return those flirts so bad. She has the BEST jacket after all. T.T

[xxvaynxx]

Not really. I hate being forced to play the villain.

[Enla]

I wouldn't have minded this but for the fact that if it was going to happen, the logical place for it /to happen/ has already passed us by in the larger story. 4.3 was the point where a lot of people felt the WoL should have diverged from the Scions due to how their and Hien's stupidity unleashed a primal and nearly crippled the fledgling Doma right out of the gate. Even I was hard pressed to imagine how the WoL if the story was being acted out logically and not in terms of trying to meet some storybeat checklist wouldn't have at the very least gone off on their own for a little bit to cool down. Because even with the limit options to oppose Asahi before the whole Tsukiyomi debacle the plot just demands you go along with it regardless. If ever there was a time for the WoL to go their separate ways it would have been then. Instead of going off towards the Black Rose storyline the writers could have explored how the WoL is treated less like a person and valued companion and more as the big macguffin by their own allies, forcing the Scions to confront their ill treatment of their most powerful ally while also giving the player room to actively explore the WoL as they see them.

It could have worked pretty well. Problem is that the story, again, has already moved past it. Not just because the incident wasn't capitalized on but because the narrative in Shadowbringers actively addresses how the Scions always treat the WoL and how wrong it is to treat a person that way. Sure it's still played occasionally for laughs like in the Nier storyline, but the active emotional punch needed for both sides to go their separate ways is pretty lacking. At this point unless we see some pretty major regression in character I can't see it happening without feeling actively forced.

[LaughingBanana]

I would love for the WoL to say: No, but the story still continues/branches out.

[Lersayil]

No, both to the OPs suggestion, and to the suggestion of making the WoL a faceless schmuck.

I have nothing against the tropes themselves, but the amount of mental gymnastics and suspension of disbelief they would require to implement is a tad bit too high for my taste.

Basically we've passed the point where these suggestions would work organically. We are on great terms with the Scions, and our morality matches theirs from beat to beat (since they are technically our voice). We are a basically continent renowned hero that most know just by reputation. The writing would have to take a sharp 180° turn to justify these plot directions.

One thing I somewhat agree on though, is that the WoL could use some more implied agency every now and then. Taking the initiative more often, instead of following others directions. I think its one of the main reasons the DRK story line worked out great, and it also feels nice on the rare occasions it happens in the MSQ too.

[Vahlnir]

Aside from beating up the bad guys, my character's head canon ideals do not really mesh with the Scions at all. So...I would love to be free of them at some point. Shadowbringers was probably the first time I actually liked any of them, and as nice as that is...I really wish I could choose another path for my character that doesn't involve them. We are all "chosen ones" though so that is unlikely to change.

[Kallera]

I haven’t really enjoyed the Scions’ presence, they seem manipulative when it comes to certain situations that you might disagree on, more than one I’ve seen them telling you what is going on, and then asking you to feel about it like this. (I:e: talking to Alisaie after she is the only one left on the source), the game’s railroading of course makes it so that no rift is possible, despite the players’ feelings on the matter.

The only way I can see that being tested is the relations between the scions and other parties become strained because of the WoL’s actions. if the revelation of the WoL being an Ascian comes to light to the general public during/after the war with Garlemald, throwing a big Ascian shaped asterisk on their intentions and purpose, ( I’m sure Solus seemed a chill guy who knew what he was doing to the Garleans.) Should we truly remain, are people truly free with the scions looking over things with THIS person under their thumb? I don’t see the explanation of “but we are all Gifted/ascians/whathaveyou!” flying very well.

[Alleo]

No I would not want that.

I mean what kind of story would this tell? How would you do your quests? Realistically not a single NPC would do anything with you anymore if you just betray them all.

I would have been fine for a very short moment where we got turned and then still trying to hang onto our sanity we fight against the scions, trying our best not to hurt them and with rejoining with Ardbert we would then get full control back and fight against the enemy and turn back after that. Or maybe just a big part of the expansion being on our own in a new country. That does not include going rogue.

No, both to the OPs suggestion, and to the suggestion of making the WoL a faceless schmuck.

The WoL could be a bit faceless if we would go to a place where we are not known without any of our friends. There we could for a time be the normal adventurer that helps others. But that would also change along the way. The more you help the more you are known and the more you are loved. Thus we would become a "face "again.

I am fine if we had an expansion like that because always just dealing with big wars or world ending threats gets boring too. But I am not sure why people would want to be a nobody..I always find it a bit strange to have cutscenes with important NPCs but your character is never in it while still doing all the heavy stuff. I already felt in ARR and HW like a simple weapon for the scions and not a person. Having even less impact in cutscenes while still doing most of it? Yeah that sounds horrible to me.

The only way I can see that being tested is the relations between the scions and other parties become strained because of the WoL’s actions. if the revelation of the WoL being an Ascian comes to light to the general public during/after the war with Garlemald, throwing a big Ascian shaped asterisk on their intentions and purpose, ( I’m sure Solus seemed a chill guy who knew what he was doing to the Garleans.) Should we truly remain, are people truly free with the scions looking over things with THIS person under their thumb? I don’t see the explanation of “but we are all Gifted/ascians/whathaveyou!” flying very well.

We are not an Ascian! Ascians are only those 13 that got tempered by Zodiark. (Yoshida explained that in an interview) We have the soul of a reborn Ancient (which more people probably have) which is a huge difference. Most people in this world dont even know about the existance of the Ascians. That might change with Garlemald, but its also likely that they will never tell the people about them.

[Seraphor]

I think the opposite would work out better.
One by one the Scions turn against you, and you don't know why, until all the Scions are an enemy faction.
But it turns out there was a deeper conspiracy (something to do with Sharlayan, if we go there in 7.0 maybe?) and they couldn't tell WoL what was going on.
The whole arc would have you questioning everything and distrusting every single NPC you come into contact with, with a bunch of new Sharlayan faces you wouldn't know who to trust.

[Rosenstrauch]

Or maybe just a big part of the expansion being on our own in a new country.

This is something I was considering as well. The next expansion is almost certainly going to be taking us to Garlemald. If we have to go completely dark for that, with no contact with the Scions or any of our other allies, we could have a moment in the story where we're doing undercover espionage for our Garlean allies and end up bumping into Thancred—also undercover for the Eorzean Alliance and the Scions—and end up having to fight him. A conflict like that would be fairly quick, however, and no doubt Thancred would wind up helping us once he realized who we are and what we're doing.

If they ever do something like that, I do hope the disguise they give us includes a face-obscuring helmet Viera and Hrothgar can wear. It would be very silly otherwise.