Tired of Zenos (spoilers)

[MoofiaBossVal]

I like Zenos.

I'm tired of the mantra that "villains must be DEEP or complicated". I'm tired of the victimization of evil where villains have to have tragic backstories or be sympathetic.

I like Zenos... because he is unapologetically EVIL. He isn't fighting for some warped ideology. He isn't lashing out against the world. Zenos is just a bloodthirsty warrior who loves the thrill of living on the edge of death and that's it. He is refreshing in his simplicity.

I am fine if he turns out to be the final boss.


I think Zenos could have been more interesting if he hadn't spent the near entirety of the Shadowbringers patches lounging around in a chair.

To me, the appeal of Zenos is that he is a self made man. Everything he does is in pursuit of self-glorification, of becoming the very very strongest warrior in the history of ever. Zenos is at his most interesting when he is pursuing that goal. Like during the Stormblood patches, when he found himself in another body, and started bodyhopping up the chain, and was going on a journey to go confront Elidibus and fight himself. That was exciting. I also liked the Zenos short story, about how a swordmaster from Corvos became Zenos' teacher and kicked Zenos in the ass, so Zenos had to actually get better. He searched the libraries for lore on the sword style, and invented a new technique to try to overcome that swordsmaster. It reminds me of Archaon from Warhammer Fantasy, who was also the big bad of that franchise, but he was also the hero of his own story, going on his journey overcoming trials, gathering allies, and acquiring magical artifacts to prepare for the final battle against Sigmar.

After Zenos got his body back, he should have been trying to pursue the WoL to the First to fight him, or he should have been going off to fight big challenges like Tiamat or Hydaelyn or something until the WoL got back. I think the reason why he didn't do that is because the writers didn't want to detract from the story going on over on the First, but it's still disappointing that he was just sitting around waiting for the WoL to get back.

Zenos is the Sylvanas of FFXIV

Oh, goodness gracious no! I understand why people don't like Zenos, but comparing him to Suevanas?

Say what you will about Stormblood, but I can't imagine FFXIV's writing quality ever reaching WoW levels.

[Ransom]

I like Zenos.

I'm tired of the mantra that "villains must be DEEP or complicated". I'm tired of the victimization of evil where villains have to have tragic backstories or be sympathetic.

Agreed. There's nothing wrong with the occasional complex villain, like Emit Selch. (Sinestro during the Geoff Johns era of Green Lantern is another well done example) But for the most part I don't want a villain I'm supposed to empathize with or feel sorry for. Zenos: Mad dog that just needs to be put down.

[Bright-Flower]

Agreed. There's nothing wrong with the occasional complex villain, like Emit Selch. (Sinestro during the Geoff Johns era of Green Lantern is another well done example) But for the most part I don't want a villain I'm supposed to empathize with or feel sorry for. Zenos: Mad dog that just needs to be put down.

Not every villain needs to be sympathetic or have a relatable motive. But Zenos just has nothing for me to latch onto. It's all relative, but Kefka, the Emperor, many iterations of the Joker etc have a level of entertainment to them that makes them interesting even if they're not complicated or sympathetic. Zenos personality wise IMO is just kind of boring. And because he never really struggles with anything his parts of the story also tend to be dull or predictable. For example the whole thing of him trying to get his body back, could have been great if he had to be strategic, find ways to manipulate and work his way toward his true body. But he never has to. He just effortlessly makes his way to the capital, beats Elidibus and forces him to abandon Zenos' body and flee, and gets what he wants with no real effort. The only time I can recall him having to actually work and struggle for something was in his short story, not even in game.