Unpopular (probably) opinion about the Nier raids...

[Jeeqbit]

They have been known to cause some people problems like headaches. They look amazing visually and were a lot of fun. It's not really a type of game I would play but it was interesting to see a warrior of light tackling that a few times with FF mechanics. I could appreciate the story too because a kid would dream that a small hole leads to something like that before they understand the world better.

And it's not like it's difficult. It's Alliance Raid so even if ppl die all the time it will get completed. So there is no point if making bosses so spoongy.

Alliance raids usually aren't difficult after the first days (like any content), because of item level increases and people understanding the mechanics better or having seen guides. I remember the first time I did it, 2 alliances wiped and ours had to take the boss alone. I think we didn't successfully clear the final boss either.

[Novae]

Nier story was... boring. In terms of boss mechanics and art direction ( except for the OST (Nier's one is magistral) and a few glamours), I think Ivalice was far superior.

[LunaJoy]

I was enjoying it through Puppets Bunker. Loved both those raids. I don’t know what happened with the last one or with the story itself. I feel like it took a sharp turn into nowhere and just kept heading for the horizon.
Super disappointed with the last boss theme too. Kaine is a beautiful song, and of course the FF theme, but it ended up so slow and lethargic. I was craving the epic themes from the other two raids (maybe nothing will ever top Weight of the World for me though) so that too was disappointing. That and none of it ended up relating to ffxiv in the end. It just fell flat.

[_Pigzig]

history of the Machi people.

Weren't they made up along with the raid? There were a few later references but I think they were all after the raid was in. Only established lore I remember from Void Ark was Diablo.

[Cabalabob]

There is actually some interesting nier lore presented in the raid but the big problem is you not only need to know nier replicant and nier automata lore, but drakengard and even a bit of soul calibur lore to really put it all together. That’s the biggest failing of the raid in my eyes, you need so much background information for it to all make sense which is a big ask for a piece of side content in a crossover in an unrelated game.

The raid itself was kind of meh, I liked copied factory because the mechanics had a really strong connection with the opening of nier automata and I enjoyed the way some of the mechanics made you play with your camera angles, it all felt very authentically nier. But bunker and tower were pretty bland in parts, other than the part where you turn into the hacking game in tower, which was good, but too short and simplistic for my tastes.

But the biggest disappointment for me was that there was no flight unit section! The part in the tower where we just have a boring elevator ride could have been a real spectacle where we fly up the rest of the way in a flight unit fighting off attackers with mount commands. But no, we get teased with the flight unit in copied factory and then never get to pilot one.

[LaylaTsarra]

I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Same was the best raid in my opinion but different strokes for different people. Love the dungeons, the gear and the ambiance. Story was fine too coming from someone who hasn't played any of the Nier games.

[Claire_Pendragon]

Not getting the story of the raid is normal.

No one was saying that. I dont understand why so many ppl assume thats the case when ppl point out obvious storytelling issues. (in the case of neir games, of which i enjoyed the 1st one a decent amount) When something is poorly written, its not because "its above you with its divinity", its solely because it ignores the best methods of telling a good story. These methods arent about "rules" dictated by others on a whim, but how our brains instinctively react to information.
I can only assume its a defensive reaction to a story/game thats liked, and said person dislikes others calling out the flaws. I find the Neir games ok. But I still see their flaws in storytelling. Is the creator allowed to do w/e he wants, and go against our natural instincts? Sure. But a flaw still remains a flaw. Theres no such thing as a perfect story. Heck, even repeating actual history also has many flaws/errors often, due to political bias as well.

As someone who designs games, it's pretty clear the "story" is the equivalent to a bandaid patch to fix a problem that needed addressed from the system up. In this case, they didnt know how to make the story blend into 14 well, and threw the most basic/simple idea possible.
Now its also not to say theres no potential in what they made, as another has said, it felt "rushed". Which is more commonly said if someone sees potential.
Im not a 100% convinced there was potential, but I am convinced the story they went with, could have been less rough, and smoothed out some of the rougher edges. The biggest problem is making the events outside of the raid feel like they are unrelated to whats inside the raid. They tried to lightly connect them at the end, but it still felt forced. Like the writers didnt have any idea how to connect them, so they went with the story they already went with. As to why this is the case, im not a 100% sure. Even with their current idea, it should have turned out better. I can only assume they didnt actually know the ending before each patch went out. Maybe they did. I dont know. But its definitely flawed. If someone enjoys it, thats fine. theres always someone whos going to like something others dont. Theres plenty of shows/games i enjoy, even though i objectively see how flawed they are or how bad they would be for others.

many times almost fall asleep on red girl or those two "brothers" robots with shields. It takes so long to kill them.

omg yes. thats the point where i stopped playing.

[Ilyrian]

Paradigms Edge is definitely an improvement on the first two.

[Payadopa]

I loved the mechanics and the overall look but the story was really boring. Coming from Drakengard, Nier and Automata I was very disappointed by the narrative.

[Sigiria]

Been a couple of 24 players raid that felt more like out of place events to be honest.
Previous one felt just like they patchworked the lore ff tactic/XII onto the lore of XIV and an excuse to fanservice hairless chewbacca minus Balthsolo into the game.
Despite loving the Nier games I didn't have very high hope for it being anything great, and it wasn't. It's some fanservice for another game from SE but without Yoko Taro being able to do his thing it was very unlikely to capture what make Nier so interesting.