Y'shtola's "Marketing Armor"

[BlitzAceRush]

The thing about tensions outside of death is that they are usually far less permanent. Nothing bites as hard as losing someone forever.

Not true, you can very much have permanent changes outside of death that can carry as much weight.
The person who saved Jill could have lost their arm, it's never coming back and unlike Jill being dead which while sticks is something the cast will have to "move on" from his missing arm is now part of the story forever, how he adapts, if he can even still fight, how him, the others and Jill feel about her involvement in it's loss.

To name a few others:
X is preeminently infected/corrupted.
That part of the world is permanently destroyed.
This form of magic is permanently gone.
A whole form of technology is lost.
There is no more night/day
This character is permanently changed in an undesirable way (undead/mechanised/e.c.t)

You're arguing in absolutes, death is not better at those things, it's just easier, any of the things I listed can ripple outwards as much as death.
By your measure Emet brought the first to the brink, and basically turned us, the world(s) greatest champion into the very thing we were trying to stop, planning to then have us kill our friends and finish off the first, his power was massive and his plan cruel and effective in it's simplicity as he managed it all by doing very little and simply nudging and acting when needed. But apparently that's all undone because he didn't kill someone.

Also at least for me, I talk more about Raubahn's missing arm than I do about Haurchefant's death, even though the latter hurt like hell, simply because he's gone and I've moved on and outside of them reminding me I don't think about it, where as Raubahn is still present in the story, so every time I see him I'm reminded and wonder if they're ever going to do anything with it or how he's handling it.
In a persistent story like 14, death happens, hurts and that's it, you're off on the next adventure and unless they parade it about constantly which would cheapen it, it simply gets buried in all the stories after, where as a character changed but alive can be seen again and that loss or change can be grown and follow.
Now I fully agree 14 could do that better, I'd like to see Y'sthola suffer some setback for using aether to see, or Raubahn lose a critical fight and lament after that if he hadn't let anger take him all that time ago he'd have had both arms and won.
I would personally rarther have those moments over simply "They're dead, that sucks and on wards we go." Because we have to keep going on and in that sense death is just "We're done with this board piece now."

[Edax]

I don't think they kill major characters for real enough in FFXIV to turn the story into a character devoid barren, and they also do a decent job at keeping side characters coming back... even if sometimes they seem sorta outta place or just tacked on.

Of course, it partially feels that way because we wait for 3~6 months at a time to read the next chapter, so the lesser characters kinda get memory holed.

I fully agree that more characters need to die in FFXIV, especially with the ongoing war and the character bloat. Nevertheless, targeting the Scions might not be a good idea since you risk destroying characters that have been built up over years and having them be replaced by newcomers few would cares about. For instance, faking out Sultana Nanamo's death was pointless, she has effectively been an extra in the story ever since. Any dialogue she's spoken in the MSQ cutscenes could have been spoken by Raubahn. It may have been more interesting to see Nanamo die and Raubahn try to take her place as leader of Ul'dah since he's already a long established character. But for the Scions, there aren't really any established characters that could readily take their place so killing a Scion risks making the story less interesting as the Scions perform a unique function.

[Allegor]

I fully agree that more characters need to die in FFXIV, especially with the ongoing war and the character bloat. Nevertheless, targeting the Scions might not be a good idea since you risk destroying characters that have been built up over years and having them be replaced by newcomers few would cares about. For instance, faking out Sultana Nanamo's death was pointless, she has effectively been an extra in the story ever since. Any dialogue she's spoken in the MSQ cutscenes could have been spoken by Raubahn. It may have been more interesting to see Nanamo die and Raubahn try to take her place as leader of Ul'dah since he's already a long established character. But for the Scions, there aren't really any established characters that could readily take their place so killing a Scion risks making the story less interesting as the Scions perform a unique function.

*discretely glaring at Lyse*

[TheMightyMollusk]

For instance, faking out Sultana Nanamo's death was pointless, she has effectively been an extra in the story ever since. Any dialogue she's spoken in the MSQ cutscenes could have been spoken by Raubahn. It may have been more interesting to see Nanamo die and Raubahn try to take her place as leader of Ul'dah since he's already a long established character. But for the Scions, there aren't really any established characters that could readily take their place so killing a Scion risks making the story less interesting as the Scions perform a unique function.

I have to disagree with this take. I feel that Nanamo's near-death experience was what pushed her to actually become a character rather than just an accessory to Raubahn. Before, whenever she appeared, she let him do all the talking, and when she did speak up, she got shouted down by Lolorito or Teledji. (I honestly spent most of ARR thinking that Raubahn was the actual ruler of Ul'dah, because Nanamo's so rarely seen!) Afterwards, she starts actually looking for ways to take charge and grow as a leader. She does most of the speaking for the Eorzean Alliance when they welcome Ishgard back at the end of Heavensward; she comes up with the plan to repatriate the Ala Mhigan refugees, takes Godbert's advice to heart and uses Lolorito's greed to her own ends; she even takes the lead in the negotiations with Varis at the Ghimlyt Dark. Nanamo is an example of a character actually growing from a near-death experience, not just shrugging it off and going about their business like Y'shtola keeps doing.

[Jin-]

Wha?
The twins are great, one is really witty and basically speaks the players mind on some matters and the other is charming as heck and a total dork.
Idk how someone could hate the twins at this point. Maybe in ARR? but SB and onward, they have been nothing but amazing characters.

I just gotta disagree with you. I don't like some snotty pre-pubs continuing to order me around. Also when i get a choice to say that i don't want them with me and i clearly use that option the game forces me to babysit them anyway.

[Vahlnir]

I just gotta disagree with you. I don't like some snotty pre-pubs continuing to order me around. Also when i get a choice to say that i don't want them with me and i clearly use that option the game forces me to babysit them anyway.

I don't mind Alphinaud, but it didn't used to be that way. Alisaie though...I find her to be rather obnoxious. She always swoops in like "OH HI GUYS, LOOK HOW TOTALLY AWESOME I AM! SEE, I KILLED THAT MONSTER SO THAT MEANS I'M AWESOME!"...and then fades back into the background where she belongs. It's like "...'kay. Good for you, I guess." I really enjoy a strong, independent female character but...not her. She annoys me. Lyse does too, but not in the same way. With Lyse it's more of a "Why are you even here?" thing.

[Edax]

I have to disagree with this take. I feel that Nanamo's near-death experience was what pushed her to actually become a character rather than just an accessory to Raubahn. Before, whenever she appeared, she let him do all the talking, and when she did speak up, she got shouted down by Lolorito or Teledji. (I honestly spent most of ARR thinking that Raubahn was the actual ruler of Ul'dah, because Nanamo's so rarely seen!) Afterwards, she starts actually looking for ways to take charge and grow as a leader. She does most of the speaking for the Eorzean Alliance when they welcome Ishgard back at the end of Heavensward; she comes up with the plan to repatriate the Ala Mhigan refugees, takes Godbert's advice to heart and uses Lolorito's greed to her own ends; she even takes the lead in the negotiations with Varis at the Ghimlyt Dark. Nanamo is an example of a character actually growing from a near-death experience, not just shrugging it off and going about their business like Y'shtola keeps doing.

And yet somehow, I feel like most of she does could have been said and done by Raubahn. He too is a character growing from being just a grunt from the coliseum to leading a nation. Nanamo and Raubahn sort of make each other redundant. They're both leading the nation at the same time, only they eat away at each other's screentime.

[MicahZerrshia]

I wouldn't mind if they got rid of Yshtola, but it should be done by having her get stuck on the first, marrying Runar and living happily ever after. More because in the short time we have known him, I care more for Runar than any of the scions and Yshtola would make him happy.

If anyone should be killed off its Alphinaud, he is by far the most annoying scion we still have and it would create a great arc for Alisaie and expand her character, which is quite one dimensional.

[Ammokkx]

If anyone should be killed off its Alphinaud, he is by far the most annoying scion we still have and it would create a great arc for Alisaie and expand her character, which is quite one dimensional.

Shush. Alphinaud it a total dork and I love him.

[TheMightyMollusk]

And yet somehow, I feel like most of she does could have been said and done by Raubahn. He too is a character growing from being just a grunt from the coliseum to leading a nation. Nanamo and Raubahn sort of make each other redundant. They're both leading the nation at the same time, only they eat away at each other's screentime.

And now Raubahn has been moved over to Ala Mhigo (which, I have to note, was also partly on Nanamo, since he was waffling about it). We'll have to wait until the plot moves back to the Source to see how that works out for them.

Of course, now Raubahn is taking screen time from Lyse instead, but given how.....let's say, divisive her character became in Stormblood, I've yet to see anyone complaining about it.