The great streamer Asmongold is joining FFXIV

[Theodric]

I think the story has had a problem for a while now where there is actually very little at stake for those of us who don't buy into melodrama as a narrative device. A lot of us know that nothing is actually going to happen to the likes of Aymeric, Y'shtola and Alphinaud whenever they're on screen so after a certain point it becomes tiresome whenever the threat of a fake death emerges.

We're approaching the final arc of the game's first major story arc and if nobody of note is going to die during a recreation of an apocalypse then I don't consider that to be a ringing endorsement of the game's storytelling. It'd be nice to have some genuinely shocking moments - because this is a Final Fantasy game and the single player titles haven't exactly avoided such things within their own narratives.

I guess I just think that it's one of those situations where some people are going to be able to separate themselves from whatever bias they have for a character and others can or will not do so. There's a lot of characters I like in this game, though I'd be fine with them dying if it were handled well.

I also don't really count what happened in 5.55 to be much in the way of a consequence. The character in question, as much as I like him, is very minor and he's been absent from the main story for a while now already. Bringing him back just to have him bound to a wheelchair felt like a waste. He could have stepped up and replaced one of the more stagnant characters instead. Or, perhaps, he could have actually have been killed off.

It's not a case of asking for death for the sake of death. I just think it's poor form to setup a major threat and then have very little of note happen.

Shadowbringers was meant to be about exploring a completely different world and yet the majority of our traveling companions consist of characters we have spent time with already. I'd hate to see story arcs after Endwalker devolve into just going to, say, the inner provinces of Hingashi only to have the characters from the region itself sidelined in favour of following Alphinaud and Y'shtola around yet again.

I want to see new characters with different motivations, stronger personalities and more engaging stakes - just like what existed back in ARR and HW.

[Gameovers]

I think the story has had a problem for a while now where there is actually very little at stake for those of us who don't buy into melodrama as a narrative device. A lot of us know that nothing is actually going to happen to the likes of Aymeric, Y'shtola and Alphinaud whenever they're on screen so after a certain point it becomes tiresome whenever the threat of a fake death emerges.

We're approaching the final arc of the game's first major story arc and if nobody of note is going to die during a recreation of an apocalypse then I don't consider that to be a ringing endorsement of the game's storytelling. It'd be nice to have some genuinely shocking moments - because this is a Final Fantasy game and the single player titles haven't exactly avoided such things within their own narratives.

I guess I just think that it's one of those situations where some people are going to be able to separate themselves from whatever bias they have for a character and others can or will not do so. There's a lot of characters I like in this game, though I'd be fine with them dying if it were handled well.

I also don't really count what happened in 5.55 to be much in the way of a consequence. The character in question, as much as I like him, is very minor and he's been absent from the main story for a while now already. Bringing him back just to have him bound to a wheelchair felt like a waste. He could have stepped up and replaced one of the more stagnant characters instead. Or, perhaps, he could have actually have been killed off.

It's not a case of asking for death for the sake of death. I just think it's poor form to setup a major threat and then have very little of note happen.

Shadowbringers was meant to be about exploring a completely different world and yet the majority of our traveling companions consist of characters we have spent time with already. I'd hate to see story arcs after Endwalker devolve into just going to, say, the inner provinces of Hingashi only to have the characters from the region itself sidelined in favour of following Alphinaud and Y'shtola around yet again.

I want to see new characters with different motivations, stronger personalities and more engaging stakes - just like what existed back in ARR and HW.

And I'mma say this. If you're not liking how they are writing the main cast now, then why on earth do you want them to replace them with new faces. To do what? Do the same thing you're sick of the main cast doing? That's what I mean. Changing the players would do nothing if the writing isn't going to change. All you'll be doing is giving the party Fantas to look and sound different. They would still have the plot armor you hate and they still won't be getting killed off. The problem isn't death OR the cast. It's the writing.

I don't think death is the only answer. Hell if I had it my way at Endwalker after 6.0 all of the party would retired and go to do their own personal things and the WOL would go on their own adventures and meet new people that way. Rather or not anyone die wouldn't matter as I'll be introducing new people and thats that. I wouldn't go back to see the old characters unless I had a use for them then. And would only use death if it works for a story and not just cause.. otherwise you're just being wasteful. Honestly, with a sudden blind kitty.. I wouldn't be teasing death on her so much cause it gives off this idea that she has plot armor. she DOES... but they are hiding it badly. I will say that.

[linayar]

It just calls into question the claim this game actually has a "great community". There's a reason why it's a meme.

No, it doesn't. A great community should be an overall judgment, taking into account that there are exceptions to the rule. Wanting to keep the community "pristine" or "pure" or whatever leads to the fear of the likes of Asmongold coming in. So people can't complain about that kind of reaction and then want to say at the same time that people being toxic in the community calls into question how great the community is. If people want to be welcoming of others, then accept that this community has people of differing attitudes and behaviors and opinions, some of it good, some of it not so good. That doesn't make it not great.

Unfortunately, even benign interactions seem to be heavily regulated by the enforcement of the ToS, and players who report others for anything and everything, in the hopes of getting another player banned, with absolutely no regard for context. Knowing full well, if what's reported is acted on, it will likely result in a strike.

That's only a problem if you think the rule isn't being enforced well, but that's a different issue.

I don't see why PvE can't be about competition. That's why there are things like leaderboards and "World first" races. I think a certain amount of healthy competition can go far into making the game a more fun experience. For that matter, we already had a taste of that sort of competition when it came to the Ishgard restoration, as I recall.

Leaderboards and races are PvP elements, and the problem is that mixes two different expectations. If everybody agrees on what they sign up on, then that's fine. But when they don't, and in the context where the game doesn't force competition, that's where expectations should be aligned to the nature of the content.

The problem isn't death OR the cast. It's the writing.

Not necessarily. I think the problem, more often than not, is a matter of difference between expectations of the player and where the story is heading.

Rich Campbell a very good friend of Asmons is playing the mmo right now and it seems to be going well. He is being followed around by a sperg army trying to show off their mounts and already has about 10 million gil at lvl 7 so there is that. Only one person has been rude in a city so far which is a bad reflection on the community and childish.

See, if anything, this community can be too great sometimes, giving things to streamers, lol. (I'm not jealous, nope, not at all...) Though on a more serious note, that can also cheapen their experience, but whatever. If they accept the gifts, then that's fine.