Critique of Endwalker Characters

[Rilifane]

Y'shtola insulting Magnai felt out of character to me given her insistence on respecting the culture and customs of the aggressive Beast Tribes back in the days of ARR. Though the Scions venturing into territory that is not theirs to claim and acting as if they own the place and know what is best is, sadly, nothing new.

For all the screeching and drooling they indulged in over Garlean conscription they sure did overlook Hien effectively tricking the Xaela into fighting a war that did not concern them. Then again, the protagonists in this game have never had any fixed moral compass or stable 'themes' I suppose...

That's one of the many things that made Hien an interesting character for me: he was willing to go for morally questionable methods and not just that, he was able to sell it in a way that nobody thought less of him for doing it. He didn't side with the Mol out of kindness of his heart or anything, it was all calculated so he (or the WoL) could take a clear leader position and make sure the tribes fight in a war not their own. As cute as it was seeing him chase sheeps, it was also just a tool to acquire information that he could use against the tribes he's planning to enlist.
Also, flooding Doma Castle, drowing most of the soldiers their so they die a gruesome death and are out of his hair? Not honorable considering the trio are all warriors that would want to die on the battlefield if they have to.
He had an honorable side, a boyish side but he also definitely had a very cold, calculating side and the mix of it made it interesting.
Why force people into doing something when you can charm them into doing it?

The bit about the character conflict can't be over-stated, IMO. Some of the most fun encounters I had in older RPGs, like Baldur's Gate 2, was trying to manage the NPC disagreements, which would sometimes result in them fighting to the death or taking your leave of the party. These aren't the only ways to resolve such conflicts, and it's obviously not feasible to the same extent in an MMO like this one, but it helped highlight the strength of their convictions and differences in these. The closest they came in FF14 is indeed Estinien and Ysayle and, although he never joined the party, Emet-Selch following your party around on the First. This helped show more facets of the characters and thus avoided reducing them to mere sounding boards for certain viewpoints.

The party dynamic in BG2 (and similiar games like Divinity series) made them really memorable when it came to characters. Even if both characters were generally good, like Jaheira and Anomen... oh boy, could they argue. It wasn't just harmless banter, it was a very real conflict over how to solve certain quests and which approach to take with something and their personalities and ideals clashed ina very believable way.
Just because the Scions are not real party members shouldn't exclude them from having real conflicts. They're still people and not some picture perfect good guys on moral high ground. Scion or not, everyone has personal bonds, affiliations and priorities. It's just not believable that they woke up one morning years ago and said "Yup, world peace above all, no personal goals from me!".