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

[tokinokanatae]

So opinions does anyone feel that this suitably answers why she made her decision?

To me--and I'm sure others feel differently--there's a huge disconnect in what you outlined. I'll try to explain as best I can.

Meteion is the threat to Etheirys and the Final Days is what she's going to bring to Etheirys. You would think, then, that the thing that should be on the forefront of Venat's mind, what she is working towards, is stopping Meteion before the Final Days occurs. If the Final Days doesn't happen, then Zodiark doesn't exist.

Now, it's possible that she attempted to do this by herself, failed, and had to allow Zodiark as plan B--but there's no evidence of that in the game. What appears to happen is Venat told no one, gathered followers to oppose Zodiark (not Meteion), allowed him to be built with the lives of the people around her, and then (fundamentally) stole him for her own purposes.

Then in the 12,000 years that followed, she fanned the flames of discord between her blessed and the Ancient survivors. Surely, by the time the world was Sundered, at the beginning she could have told Emet-Selch, or Elidibus, or heck, depending on what he was like before he went nuts, Lahabrea what her plans were. Hermes was no longer there as a threat, having fulfilled his purpose to assist with the building of Zodiark as a dynamis shield. If they were still too infuriated by what they saw as betrayal to ever work with her, at least they would have made that decision while knowing there was a larger threat growing stronger and stronger as the centuries passed.

[Skyborne]

If they were still too infuriated by what they saw as betrayal to ever work with her, at least they would have made that decision while knowing there was a larger threat growing stronger and stronger as the centuries passed.

Considering the writing of the expac, I'm sure they would have been all fine with this and would have lined up to kneel and kiss her foot and praise her for teaching them, the dumb nostalgic old grumps, all about hope (tm), love, life, and laughter. And, of course, to Move Foward, Move On, Forge Ahead (tm) together to the Better Brighter Future (tm) while saluting the flag of the United States of Alphinaud.

[KizuyaKatogami]

Considering the writing of the expac, I'm sure they would have been all fine with this and would have lined up to kneel and kiss her foot and praise her for teaching them, the dumb nostalgic old grumps, all about hope (tm), love, life, and laughter. And, of course, to Move Foward, Move On, Forge Ahead (tm) together to the Better Brighter Future (tm) while saluting the flag of the United States of Alphinaud.

Sad, but true.

[Kozh]

Considering the writing of the expac, I'm sure they would have been all fine with this and would have lined up to kneel and kiss her foot and praise her for teaching them, the dumb nostalgic old grumps, all about hope (tm), love, life, and laughter. And, of course, to Move Foward, Move On, Forge Ahead (tm) together to the Better Brighter Future (tm) while saluting the flag of the United States of Alphinaud.

Lmao, I love this so much XD

Serious talk though, it's kinda sad that for me, who (way) more often than not prefer hopeful positive message/ending in a story or game, Endwalker actually achieved the opposite. It's like, yeah I get the message and I don't think it's that bad either, but sometimes there can be too much positive message(tm) you can get before it turned to cringe. They have been beating us in the head with these themes ever since SB, only to amp it up in EW. It's tiring. Not just the main protagonists (the scions) who are frothing at the mouth about it, but apparently now so do the rest of the npc. The fact that they have to made Sharlayan Forum to be so incompetent they couldnt find the ore themselves just to show how the scions "bring together the world" is.....cringy.