What's the point with that quite lackluster story in Endwalker?

[Theodric]

I found it rather hard to consider the Endsinger to be a 'deadly threat' when the entirety of the second phase consisted of awkwardly flailing about as a bunch of characters who have consistently been given everything they desired throughout the story proclaim that they've endured 'so much'.

It's a particularly strange claim when one looks at what the likes of the Garleans and Ancients have endured by comparison, through no fault of their own. Though the game has long since pretended as if that character with the weird half-shaved hair - Moenbryda? - is as devastating a loss as someone losing literally every single friend and family member they have ever known. Not that it's a competition, though there is most definitely differing degrees of traumatic events to consider...

[Rokke]

The thing is "finish the fight" can have multiple meanings. Imagine some of the players whose native language is spanish or portugese. I'm not sure if the blame is on the translation team or the writers, but that sentence does not paint venat in a good lighting either way.

Can't speak for all of us, but I understood that line perfectly clear. I'm not on board with Venat's plan 100% but this is silly levels of pedantry.

[Lauront]

Not necessarily. Thanks to dynamis, you can say the MC can do pretty much anything as long as their feelings are strong enough. It explains impossible feats of strength. Kinda lame if you ask me, but it's there now.

I'd say that's probably an answer along the right lines (since it isn't always enough), but even so she wasn't as potent as either of Hades (required 8 champions plus loads of lightwarden light - I'm discounting Elidibus because he had primal aspects to him), and even in Pandaemonium, Themis has to "clone" you aetherically using his magic to be able to contend with some of the things in there, so there's limits to what it can do. She does remark on the unsundered MC astounding her with their strength, so I take it both they and Hades were ancients of particularly great power. To a degree I think she is looking at it in terms of aether alone (rather than some asspull-y muh feelz power), and being complimentary on account of that.

[aveyond-dreams]

I found it rather hard to consider the Endsinger to be a 'deadly threat' when the entirety of the second phase consisted of awkwardly flailing about as a bunch of characters who have consistently been given everything they desired throughout the story proclaim that they've endured 'so much'.

It's a particularly strange claim when one looks at what the likes of the Garleans and Ancients have endured by comparison, through no fault of their own. Though the game has long since pretended as if that character with the weird half-shaved hair - Moenbryda? - is as devastating a loss as someone losing literally every single friend and family member they have ever known. Not that it's a competition, though there is most definitely differing degrees of traumatic events to consider...

While I understand that they tried to do the whole FFIV thing where the party members we left behind pray for our victory from afar...it can have less impact if you're someone that just doesn't feel that strongly about them.

The second phase of the fight is also poorly designed. At that point we've already beaten it, there's no reason for it to last as long as it does.

Also big agree on the whole Moenbryda thing-her and Haurchefant were just sort of there, then not there for me and I was surprised to see how emotionally invested others were in these characters when there were more interesting people around.

[Skyborne]

Idk about you but if Zodiark still being incomplete was the final boss, would've been well boring because we all expected it. Its kind of like when people are mad comic book stories aren't exactly the same in movies. If you went in to a comic movie and everything was the same as the comics, you'd expect everything and know what the outcome would be. No difference here. Most people expected we would either fight both Hydaelyn and Zodiark or just Zodiark at the end, because hes been the big bad all this time, but again he was incomplete and still sundered. Now if the story was different and the rejoinings all actually happened and he was complete, would've been a completely different ball game. Idk I think Endsinger was a good final boss. Because it means in the grand scheme of things even Primal, not even the eldest of them are the most deadly threats out there in the universe. So they can really play around with that.

Personally, I think it would've also been a nice subversion if we didn't fight him at all. Throw the WoL into the pilot seat, even. Imagine some big bombastic G-Warrior like duty where we fly through space as Him... maybe spin the platform around on the Endsinger until she vomits and passes out. :^)

[BaconBits]

"All in creation, bent to my will!"

Spins Ultima Thule like a Merry-go-round

[Lauront]

Personally, I think it would've also been a nice subversion if we didn't fight him at all. Throw the WoL into the pilot seat, even. Imagine some big bombastic G-Warrior like duty where we fly through space as Him... maybe spin the platform around on the Endsinger until she vomits and passes out. :^)

Would've made for a more fun gimmicky encounter for me than that end fight with Zenos, to get to play primal for once and soften her up, and later just do a token trial to swat her like a bug.

[Jettinson]

Personally, I think it would've also been a nice subversion if we didn't fight him at all. Throw the WoL into the pilot seat, even. Imagine some big bombastic G-Warrior like duty where we fly through space as Him... maybe spin the platform around on the Endsinger until she vomits and passes out. :^)

Man, the lack of Cid participation in all that hurts.
Even an Ultra G-Warrior that could be used briefly would have been hype... (of course not as boring as the Sapphire Weapon fight)

[Theodric]

While I understand that they tried to do the whole FFIV thing where the party members we left behind pray for our victory from afar...it can have less impact if you're someone that just doesn't feel that strongly about them.

The second phase of the fight is also poorly designed. At that point we've already beaten it, there's no reason for it to last as long as it does.

Also big agree on the whole Moenbryda thing-her and Haurchefant were just sort of there, then not there for me and I was surprised to see how emotionally invested others were in these characters when there were more interesting people around.

If nothing else, if the game is going to go all out with the fanservice then I want it to do it across the board. I care very little for the Scions but there are plenty of characters elsewhere that I like, both in terms of antagonists and protagonists.

I'd have appreciated Nabriales getting a mention. Yes, he killed Moenbryda (back in the days when a character screeching and recklessly charging headfirst towards an enemy would result in the logical consequence) but given that we've since learned what, exactly, he was fighting for then you'd think he'd get some proper closure.

Equally, I was waiting a long time for something to come of Regula's sacrifice and final words but there was never any option to bring him up during the peace talks with Varis and the game conveniently forgets that the pair had a friendship together that spanned decades. Which makes it a bit more of a meaningful relationship when compared to Haurchefant and the player character. He's an Elezen who knew the adventurer for...a few weeks or months at most, given how little time passes between events in the story and even then it can be argued as to how much of his 'sad sacrifice' was about him being honourable and how much of it was due to his obsessive crush upon the player character.

I suppose it's another reason why I didn't like Endwalker. The game skimped on bringing back so many characters, even in passing. The game is constantly pushing the very 'safe' characters who all conveniently agree with one another and the characters with more depth to them are either ignored after their initial appearance or quietly shuffled off into side-content.

[BaconBits]

Makes you wonder what the rest of the surviving sundered Ascians are up to. Maybe Travanchet's been vibing in Costa Del Sol all along drinking fruit smoothies after messing around with the people that built Alexander.