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

[shao32]

Same here, I loved level 85 Thavnair and thought "well, maybe it was worth it having Zodiark as the level 83 trial if it gets this epic". But that was pretty much it. The Garlemald part felt like an afterthought (although it gave us the catharsis of Alisaie telling Zenos nobody cares). The role quests are just a couple of monsters here and there, though I found some of the story hooks interesting. Are you just going to tell me nothing happened in Ul'dah with all that misery around the city? Really? Come on.

And I genuinely thought it was going to finally pop up in Sharlayan during the Labyrinthos quests, but... nope. I legitimately got a sinking feeling in my stomach when at one point someone goes "you should come outside and see this!!!" and I was like "oh shit it's here in Sharlayan and the sky is going to be blood red" but nah it's just everyone and their grandma showing up to bring you the Unobtainium lol

Yeah i had the same feeling, just when we get in to the ship and fly away i was "ok im done with this expansion", just to ask my self when we comeback at the end "they just stay there doing absolutely nothing but watch the sky while we have been doing all that stuff in ultima thula?" the tension was totally gone but was hilarious that it seems like everyone was enjoying a tea or something while we had the battle to save the universe.
At least give me a final stand on aetherys where everyone is heavely suffering everywhere doing his best working together to buy time as the scions are doing all those "sacrifices" bcs every second counts or something like that so the final zone feel like we are fighting for all those who are going to die if we fail but the only thing i get is like "it doesn't matter they are just there guesing the form of the clouds as they wait for us".

[Lauront]

Along with everyone treating her like a hero, this was her other biggest crime as far as I'm concerned tbh. I could take pre-ShB Emet, Butler Fandaniel clowning around and Nabriales stroking Minfilia's face like a Saturday morning cartoon villain – I'd say I'm pretty easy to please – but even if we consider her something of a villain I just find her boring at it. Come on sis, FLAUNT IT!

The one thing she did which amused me was the similarities between Minfilia and Argos. That's quite the bold statement to make.

[Amon-ster]

Damn this thread is still poppin. Once I finished EW I knew it would be an extremely divisive story.

[Caurcas]

That level 85 cutscene with the matanga was the high point of the story. Nothing hit like that in the rest of the story. That's kind of wack, given it's the mid of the story.

[Theodric]

It's kind of weird that they were willing to show a random child turning into a monster and then being squished by an even bigger monster as well as having a baby almost drown to death...

...but apparently it'd be 'too much' to have even one of the Scions or City State leaders end up being killed somehow.

[Caurcas]

It's kind of weird that they were willing to show a random child turning into a monster and then being squished by an even bigger monster as well as having a baby almost drown to death...

...but apparently it'd be 'too much' to have even one of the Scions or City State leaders end up being killed somehow.

Well it just makes the plot armor obvious. Kind of destroys verisimilitude though.

[myahele]

As more time pass the less I like the story of Endwalker, especially with some of the recent revelations from the recent ll. I was initially excited for Pandaemonium, but looks like its yet another time-loop plot. I can't say that I'm looking forward to the future patches anymore with the current writing and will take a break from XIV for a bit.

[Rulakir]

Square Enix has an "ethics" department. Just putting that out there.

Which is disturbing. I know Japanese culture is different than the west, but it's been mentioned a few times that after EW some players don't feel like they're ethically on the same page as the writers. That's a problem and something you'd think that department would've picked up on before production started.

Congratulations. You got a villainous Hydaelyn.
You got your Mommy Crystal Genocidaelyn. Your big evil angelic mommy milker crystal of sundering.

Was it worth it?

Except we didn't, not really. The game still presents her as a protagonist and Yoshi-P said they want to "communicate she's not a bad guy". The writers/devs themselves don't view her as villain and the game doesn't portray her as one either.

It’s like she’s been waiting for an chance to force people to her ideals and her ideals only. She just needed an excuse and the power to finally do it without direct consent of the rest of the world.

Given how ideologically divided the world has been the past two years it's amazing to me that this doesn't get called out more.

I can't say that I'm looking forward to the future patches anymore with the current writing and will take a break from XIV for a bit.

Same. It's particularly worrying that it's going to be a "conflict in values". First, I get enough of that in real life, thanks. Second, I don't trust the writers to handle the subject now after EW.

[KageTokage]

From an in universe point of view one could understand backing Venat, considering her action led to the existence of them and theirs. Although, once again she is a victim of the writers who thought meteion was a good idea.

I think the actual problem was them trying to incorporate time travel/causal loops into the main story arc. Venat having foreknowledge of everything that was to come just frames her actions in an even worse manner; even if it was necessary to preserve the future.

I was perfectly okay with the Meteion twist because I had long suspected that a "perfect" race like the Ancients most likely engineered their own demise somehow and I felt more gratified then anything else by the time the whole truth of things came to light.

[Riardon]

It's kind of weird that they were willing to show a random child turning into a monster and then being squished by an even bigger monster as well as having a baby almost drown to death...

...but apparently it'd be 'too much' to have even one of the Scions or City State leaders end up being killed somehow.

You can gruesomely kill any random NPC but not anyone important in the MSQ.
People proven to be too sensitive with their husbnados and waifus.
Look at Haurchefant's death and how so many people were upset.
A comical sexual predator (at least in the Japanese language).
The whole thing with the fake deaths and plot armors was dragged a bit took much though.