Is it just me, or did 5.3 represent a big decline in storytelling? (spoilers)

[Fawkes]

This patch was a step up from the last few, IMO.

[Lauront]

Or maybe I believe after 7 years a Heroic Fantasy story isn’t going to magically change genres because some edgy 14 year olds on the forum want it to? Just some food for thought, dear.


Or I was disagreeing with him, maybe? And know his post history enough to know his modus operandi? Also this meme needs to stop. I love the claims of cult mentality when on any given day 80% of the the various sections of the forums are whine threads. 5 seconds in the Healer forums will instantly dispel any goddamn notion of the “legion of sycophants” fantasy you made up in your head. Or any given Summoner thread.

Also, I do acknowledge them. Doesn’t make them any less wrong, though. As such not every opinion should be fawned over and taken seriously. That sounds kinda cult like.

That's a lot of words to say "I am a contrarian".

That isn't "disagreement". That's simply a bad faith attempt to try to argue he's making the points simply to be a contrarian. Don't even bother pretending otherwise. It's not going to fly.

You also don't really acknowledge them. You're just asserting they're "wrong", even though enjoyment of the story is subjective, which you then twist into this strawman that every opinion should be "fawned over"... which no one is arguing. Pretending that the OP is alone in their opinion, though, when others have expressed similar sentiments? That is gaslighting.

The fact that other quarters of the forum have disagreements is rather irrelevant to the fact that there is a contingent of posters here who will defend whatever is thrown at them, and try dismiss the views of players who are not satisfied with certain elements of the game.

I think it's quite obvious you're arguing out of bad faith, have no real ability to understand other people without trying to insult them by likening them to "edgy 14 year olds" and just have an ax to grind. Not really a person worth my time.

[Sonikku]

Can anyone explain to me what Elidibus was actually trying to tell us by running us through all the expansion content? Maybe it's obvious, but it went over my head.

[gumas]

^short version, elidibus is basically a "machine" of sort, he was program to bring the ascian back to its former glory and to do that he start with eradicate us, and us being WOD its only normal for elidibus to apply WOL to fight WOD (and considering first world is all about overflowing light, its kinda given)

thats like super short very rough version of it, iam sure other can tell you more in detail.

also... decline? i dont know about decline but 5.3 story is a "closure", the end for SHB arc, you can literally put "the end" on the bottom corner when alisae doing that "The Girl Who Leapt Through the Time" iconic jump and it will be a fitting end.

[EusisLandale]

Can anyone explain to me what Elidibus was actually trying to tell us by running us through all the expansion content? Maybe it's obvious, but it went over my head.

It's basically just the 60-70 Dark Knight quests again. "You're a monster leaving a trail of death in your wake" with an added temper tantrum of "You want to keep killing my friends? Kill your own!"

[Miminming]

The core plot of 5.3 is amazing but the representation is just okay. and i agree with some character feels off but at still okay, some of the cutscebe is soooo cheesy i cringe at the ending the aliase jump...

i however dislike the ending, i love Graha but reviving him is extremely cheap move, i rather he stay dead or crytalized or whatever than having him revived like that... then again he probably gonna be a one of the cow to be milked from now on...

[Vahlnir]

The core plot of 5.3 is amazing but the representation is just okay. and i agree with some character feels off but at still okay, some of the cutscebe is soooo cheesy i cringe at the ending the aliase jump...

i however dislike the ending, i love Graha but reviving him is extremely cheap move, i rather he stay dead or crytalized or whatever than having him revived like that... then again he probably gonna be a one of the cow to be milked from now on...

Considering all the talk of his other self in the tower I had a feeling that he would utilize the soul crystal thing for himself. Despite knowing that, seeing him die once was pretty sad. I think my only complaint about the whole thing is that we didn't get to do the reviving ourselves from a player perspective. We just ran into the tower and were met with a "3 days later..." That, to me, was the only thing that felt cheap. The added tension of "but it may not work!" was also unnecessary. We all knew it would. But it'll be nice to have him around. Might be one of only a couple Scions that I like.

[Gula]

It's basically just the 60-70 Dark Knight quests again. "You're a monster leaving a trail of death in your wake" with an added temper tantrum of "You want to keep killing my friends? Kill your own!"

Fray sitting in the back thinking, "That's cute."

[Arallir]

Several months have passed since the release of Patch 5.3, and I think I am finally ready to write what I did not like about it, and not in the form of a stream of consciousness and not in the form of swearing words about "ugly disgusting creatures" (just kidding, although every joke has its share of ... jokes). I understand that my brother and I are in the minority, and the post will still be large, and it will most likely be a cry into the void, but there is always at least a small chance. For example, the fact that the developers somehow monitor the forum.

There are several reasons, the majority of my complaints have been brewing for a long time, and the released patch was just the “last straw”.

1) I did not like that by raising the topic “try to convince your opponent”, the developers did not realize this possibility. They did not let me convince Elidibus. I have missed this opportunity since the days of Heavensward. Even then, we were shown this- we were able to convince two old dragons in the possibility of peace between dragons and mortals, with all the features of the dragon’s memories, but we could not convince an old man (Thordan). We did not even try. Neither the protagonist, (not to call him rudely), nor such a diplomat as Alphinaud even had such a thought. Why is this important? Because the hero is not the one, who makes pretentious speeches and can beat up anyone. More precisely, it is about this kind of heroes they say: "kill one and you are a murderer, but kill thousands and you are a hero." The right hero must be humane, and humanity is impossible without compassion, the ability to be merciful, to be able to hear the others and walk a mile in their shoes. Such a person will not try to solve a problem by force as a first choice. And it wouldn’t be a problem if the game had a serious storytelling with a gray morality, like Witcher. Final Fantasy XIV is more of a fairy tale with a clear division into Good and Bad.

Other characters around us show compassion. This is Widargelt throughout the storylines from the 50s levels and beyond, who, before, during and after the battles, continues and continues to try to persuade his opponents. These are Lyse and Arenwald, Gosetsu and Hien, these are characters of small side quest arcs, like the inhabitants of Ala Giri, who did not want to give the imperial officer to the Resistance.

[Arallir]

continuation of the post:

More than one person noted that the solo challenge in 5.3 is similar to the level 60 dark knight quest line. For me, this topic can be raised at least in every patch of each of the extensions - because the game still has not given an answer. No conclusions are drawn. We still solve everything exclusively by force. Why did Midgardsomr suddenly believe in us and in humanity? Because we are strong and by fighting we have restored Hydaelyn’s blessing. However, how, I would like to ask, does this answer the claims that he made against the "sons of man"? We didn’t say a thing to Tiamat’s story, which Midgardsomr wanted us to know. Why did Hraeswelgr agree to help us? Because we defeated him in his trial. But how does this respond to his claims and doubts in mortals?

Returning directly to patch 5.3, if we were given to convince Elidibus, it would not be a “victory of a fist”, once again, but an ideological victory. It would serve as an answer to both him and Myste, and would give an answer to the question of why the protagonist is the hero whom anyone can and should be equal to. Why exactly he is morally higher and better than his opponents are. As a game goes by till this day – the answer is no. Moreover, it turns out that our enemy, the Ascian, was able to reach out to us, to show himself and his people as people, to accept us - as the game claims and, which undoubtedly attracts so many to Emet-Selch. All this is his and only his merit and achievement. And when we were required to do the same, we did not do it. As a result, the line and death of Emet-Selch himself is also perceived by me as something that was lost in vain, gone “into the void”. If we succeeded, all of this would fit in its places, like the price paid for the built bridge, for the second chance received by both parties. But no...