Spoiler, Sploilers, and more Spoilers

[Theodric]

I've been posting on these forums for years, personally, and I strongly disagree that they're terrible. At least here people don't receive death threats and if they do, they're dealt with by the moderators - which is more than can be said of the likes of Reddit and Twitter.

I'd be inclined to suggest that the only real issue around these parts stems from the 'super fans' who show up to treat any and every tiny little bit of criticism, no matter how constructive, as some deeply personal affront to their existence.

I'd also note that this is a global game with a global audience. Expecting everybody to package their feedback exactly to lofty, unrealistic expectations is pretty bizarre in my opinion.

[Ayer2015]

My only two issues with the EW MSQ were how Zenos was handled, and the final zone with the very cliché series of companions giving up their lives only to be brought back minutes later. One permanent character sacrifice in a meaningful manner would have been far more impactful and appreciated.

[Jandor]

I think sometimes people struggle to see the forest for the trees, or maybe it's more 'that tree over there sucks, so this whole forest sucks!'.

I don't think the story is perfect. I'd have handled a couple scenes a bit differently, tied a couple things together a bit tighter, and it did feel a little heavy handed with its theme at certain points, but overall it was good. I enjoyed it.

Honestly my main criticism would be that it didn't real nail any 'sad' moments for me. There were 'omg' moments, 'wtf' moments, plenty of 'cool' and 'awesome' moments, but not really many 'sad' moments, which is a bit odd in an expansion where 'despair' is meant to be such a recurring thing.

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If it was me in charge I'd have been so tempted to have the Azem spell at the end be a mislead. You can summon them back, but they only last as long as the spell does, their bodies are still gone and their souls are still bound to Ultima Thule.

[QT_Melon]

You understand these "writing-issues" are non-issues for other people? Nostalgia or not. If these "issues" are too much for you then I get it. However, part of media criticism is understanding the audience a piece of media is intended for. Final Fantasy isn't book 1 (or season 1 if were a tv show watcher) of Game of Thrones. That's not the kind of story its building here.

It is Book one.

Also what do you mean IT'S not. It very much intended to be Epic because they decided to tie everything together. These expansions prior to Shadowbringers WERE not related till they decided to.

This argument that "you realize there are people who have no problems with the story" is a strawman.

[RyuDragnier]

Cool, let me help you with that as far as I'm concerned: What I expected was a story that made logical sense. I expected a story that didn't throw a ton of random stuff at the wall in the hopes that it all stuck.

And that's exactly what you got, a story that made logical sense.

[Alleo]

I also think it jumped the shark and escalated things to a ridiculous degree. I wasn't pleased when WoW did that and I am certainly not pleased with FFXIV going down the same route.

I think that is the point that I also disliked (but overall I find it to be good story and a good ending for the story line). I wished it would have stayed more focused on the planet. Them opening up the whole universe is imo too much. Just as I found it strange how our planet was the only one that was still with hope. And then we somehow defeat despair itself. So what now? Will they truly only tell us smaller stories? Will they be happy with years of such stories? Or will we have an expansion where we will fight an even worse enemy...IMO if you have something like the Endsinger keep it for the last expansion.

And I too still dont understand the time travel...I just dont believe that Venat would have gone the exact same path if we had not been in Elpis. They after all only suspected that something was wrong with Hermes because we told them about the Final Days. And yet it has to be that way because we do have the bad future where we died.

[RyuDragnier]

It is Book one.

This isn't Book One, this is Book 6, which ends the storyline before the sequel book series starts.

[Rin_Kuroi]

And that's exactly what you got, a story that made logical sense.

I agree. This story was an exploration of the fermi paradox and great filters. It's kinda terrifying there could be any number of great filters that no civilization will ever survive.

[Rin_Kuroi]

It is Book one.

Also what do you mean IT'S not. It very much intended to be Epic because they decided to tie everything together. These expansions prior to Shadowbringers WERE not related till they decided to.

This argument that "you realize there are people who have no problems with the story" is a strawman.

I meant Final Fantasy 14 isn't the same as Game of Thrones book 1 (or season 1 of the tv series). My argument was that these two franchises are targeting different audiences.

[QT_Melon]

I meant Final Fantasy 14 isn't the same as Game of Thrones book 1 (or season 1 of the tv series). My argument was that these two franchises are targeting different audiences.

Okay...?

But that's not an excuse. I'm saying the audience has gotten bit more perceptive these days when it comes to storylines, and way past blowing off cartridges. I never once attacked people as "Brainless" or whatever for enjoying the story. I'm one of those people who overall enjoyed it myself. That doesn't mean I have some serious qualms in its presentation. Is it a nice sendoff for the most part since its 1.0 inception? Yes.

But that doesn't mean I'm going to hand wave or make excuses for parts of it. I may engage in debate with others why I disagree with certain parts of their interpretation - but that's the nature of the beast.

This isn't Book One, this is Book 6, which ends the storyline before the sequel book series starts.

This really is just nitpicking for the sake of nitpicking. It can be seen as Book one if you treat each Xpac a Chapter.