Endwalker Main Scenario Commentary & Feedback

[Ryaz]

After finishing the MSQ, I just have to say... damn.

I didn't think they could outdo ShB, but they did. Everything was on point. The zones, the music, the character work, the moments... might be my favorite RPG ever.

[Rufalus]

I just wanted to log on to congratulate all involved in delivering this expansion. I take back anything negative I said about the game in recent years. When the story and world is this compelling, I can overlook the game design / content progression model being almost unchanged since ARR. Endwalker more than lives up to the legacy of Final Fantasy. Taken as a single player game it is perhaps the greatest tale yet, the deepest examination of life and why we fight.

[Elladie]

At the moment I don't have anything coherent to say except 'OMG!' Followed by 'emotional roller-coaster much?!'

I hoped it would be good - maybe even as good as ShB - but it has blown me away. Not quite at the end yet but I'm not expecting to be disappointed. And I will have sensible, lore-based stuff to say once I manage to re-engage my brain

(Longer than expected pause)

So finally finished tonight, took longer getting to the end than I had hoped due to work/queues/RL. I have lots to say (as always) some of it is more critical analysis than points of lore and some of it is just me squeeing loudly

Also need to check I can remember how to do spoiler tags

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Fab, yes I do!

[redheadturk]

RE: The Pandemonium stinger

My boy is back, and I friggin' squealed so loud I scared my cat

[StriderShinryu]

Managed to finish it late last night (Sunday). No skipping (though I did clip some dialog short because of certain characters I hate after I read the dialog) and did a couple of extra things inc. unlocking flying and un-fogging each zone map. Not necessarily on the lore front, though I'm sure there will be argument there as well, but I have a feeling this expansion/patch could be quite controversial. In many ways, it's very much NOT ShB while still very much needing ShB to have existed.

[Rulakir]

Not necessarily on the lore front, though I'm sure there will be argument there as well, but I have a feeling this expansion/patch could be quite controversial. In many ways, it's very much NOT ShB while still very much needing ShB to have existed.

Agreed. I feel like ShB laid a foundation that they didn't decide to use in EW, opting to instead go with new construction. Frankly, if I didn't know better I would've assumed the story had been handled by someone else with a different vision than who wrote ShB, so the direction of EW was surprising. I was expecting and hoping for a continuation of moral greyness only to get black & white. I was telling a lore friend that it essentially killed most debate because the majority of the nuance that existed in ShB was stripped away in EW.

I think that EW was a good expansion on its own, but it was not the spiritual successor of ShB for me. Having said that, my favorite part of EW wouldn't have hit as hard as it did without ShB.

[Ryaz]

I think the only issue I had, unless I missed it somewhere, is that

We never answered Venat's question after the Trial.

[yajnaji]

Quick take.

After Elpis, I lost interest. The Labyrinthos segment could be much smaller (it reeks of filler) and after that its just... I don't know, too much fluff and too predictable. It felt way off.

I still liked it, but again after Elpis it becomes pretty mediocre. Honestly it looks rushed and unfinished.

[QT_Melon]

So, just finished MSQ and while this is a pretty fitting ending. I did have some thoughts

Absolutely agree on an earlier point with Zenos

While I adore Venat as a character, I'm gonna have to say I don't like Hydaelyn. It's just that There was a considerable amount of hand waving explanations regarding her behavior. To the point she shared quite a bit of Mary Sue traits...It's not that being a Mary Sue in itself can be a bad thing.

I like the fact as Venat she can be seen as a mentor. I just don't like fact she somehow thought of everything for the future. It was to the point it actually broke me out of engaging story telling and kinda was like "really?"

I'll repeat again. The recordings of Anamnesis Anyder not really matching up to Final Days scene in Elpis. I was like...wait... but I suppose it's now why we'll kinda have to wait for the 24 man. I just felt like there was a disconnect and put TOO much in Venat taking everything alone when it didn't seem it was the case, nor we really hear what happened to our Azem during that time (I apologize if I missed it since there were times I was faceplanting due to trying to get through the story for fear of awful queue times)?

"Oh that part with her and Zodiak - yeah that was an embellishment"

Hythlodaeus probably broke me emotionally the most. He was incredibly gifted in sight but couldn't do much else and admitted as such but still did his best.

I get that the writers had to tie everything in to explain certain gaps but I think there was too much and waving in Hydaelyn's behavior and could "do no wrong" kind of apologists will get out of it instead of realizing both choices on both ends were equally difficult. Though did feel like there could have been more communication but meh... I guess there's that.


I actually like the sundering decision. Makes sense.

Now saying all that, I probably would have enjoyed Hydaelyn and Zodiark more if the foundation was really there, but we all know they kinda retconned and repurposed the story to make sense.

Emotionally it was fantastic and won't lie if I shed a few tears at certain scenes

I do want to say the devs and staff did a tremendous job on this (ten) year journey and I feel this expansion is so fitting from a broken 1.0 launch. Thank you for delivering this product that I've spent many years enjoying.

Thank you so much and much love overall.

[EdwinLi]

Basic meal in Sharlayan.

So basically the standard for a meal is like any other college. Fast food and a Starbucks.

At least we know G'raha Tia enjoys his hamburger. Also, Alisaie being that person who hates pickles in her hamburger.

The theme for the 6.0 storyline.

The theme for 6.0 is greatly about life and death.

It is about the value of life and the despair from life that may make people yearn for death.

We all value life in our own way and we always strive to find a reason to continue living either for ourselves or for others. However, it is not easy for everyone because of their conditions in their own life.

It is always easy to yearn for death and even go into a dark corner to think about bringing death to everything that exists because in the end it all means nothing once we die or when time finally cause a event that undo everything a person achieved. We as beings who only live below 100 years also will never know the pain of those who can live longer as those who live longer will achieve more things but at the sametime they will experience more despair and loss than us to a point it becomes hard to not give into the darker nature of wanting to destroy everything since the thought about everything eventually becomes pointless becomes stronger.

There is also the concept of how people views and values life of others. As we seen in the Garlean side of things, while there are some who were willing to join the fight into Garlemald to help save the Garleans, far more refused because they will not help people they have seen as enemies for generations and for the actions of their people. However, this story does bring up the a very important thing about the life of others.

Despite differences in nations, ideology, beliefs, and physical aspects we are all still living beings. The actions of others cannot be determined as the actions of everyone even among nations. When we stop viewing each other by the concept of nations( from prejudice beliefs to political differences) and start focusing more on each other as just living beings, we will find that we all have some kind of common ground despite our differences. That our lives are neither above nor lower than one another but equally valuable as each other.

It is a lesson a lot of people need to learn in the real world as well because people give into prejudice and hatred towards people simply because of what nation they are from thus reacting more towards the person's nation rather than trying to see them as a individual person instead.