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

[jameseoakes]

Pretty much. The lack of option to voice different opinions (even though it ofc doesn't impact the story) for our character, and the lack of meaningful actions/reactions when needed are what made it quite unbearable to go through.
And despite everything that was said and thought Emet-Selch *whose death is welcomed in ShB* is still depicted as the villain while Venat *whose death is mourned* is a hero and has a minion that makes sure you know it.

I don't think it helps that the story spent a lot of time building the idea that Hydaelyn loved the peoples of the source and the the reflection and pushed that in the dialogue hard and then when it comes to Venat they don't really show her having any strong feelings for the people she made only being interested in them as a means to prove her ideology right

[Kyohei]

That's a good point, now that you say it she did seem a bit cold and distant when we get to meet her again in Aitiascope.
She was ready to give up on all the other reflections to save the Source only too, kind of akin to saving your eldest child while letting the others drown...sure doesn't feel right.

[PawPaw]

Yes, the story is first and foremost what kept me subbed and though I'm trying very hard to keep liking it it's just too hard with Endwalker's inconstistent story (was already hard to enjoy the bit from Elpis last cs to the end). Can't see how it's going to be better. Nothing will be able to wash away the annoying feeling Endwalker left, so those new adventures won't be "good fresh start".

This is what I'm struggling with as well. When I began playing this game back in the day I was very endgame focused, it wasn't long though before I shifted to focusing more and more on the story; to the point that I only really subbed for the story patches and EPs. I feel like EW was such a disappointing, cheesy resolution and I am having a very hard time working up excitement for a "new adventure".

Y'know, I think hearing the producer himself say "you guys are looking at the story too much"(paraphrasing) really deflated me, more than I realized at the time. I think the theory crafting that the fanbase does is pretty standard stuff, and the questions that were asked in that LL were questions that I've heard many people ask before in online discussion. But if we're overthinking it then what does that mean for the actual writing team? Do they not consider the resolutions of things they create beforehand? Their established lore? If I care about their story and characters this much and am told it's too much, should I not even bother anymore?

I guess I'll just take a break until 6.1 and see how it goes from there.

[Kyohei]

Yes it was really disheartening to hear him say such a thing. Especially when he's also the one who should know that FFXIV is focused on the story unlike any other mmos but like every other Final Fantasy. Of course a big part of the player base is going to be looking at the story this much and they should've known.

[KageTokage]

The Elpis story arc was really the only part of Endwalker that hugely disappointed me in hindsight because it betrayed my expectations and not in a good way.

The Twinning dungeon having us go in and break the time machine in the Crystal Tower felt like the writers not-so-subtly saying "Okay, there isn't going to be any more timey-wimey nonsense." then they doubled back on that and made it have much further reaching implications/effects then any of the prior instances of it did.

There was so little foreshadowing or build-up to the twist it just felt really...cheap compared to every other major story beat in XIV overall.

[Theodric]

I guess I'll just take a break until 6.1 and see how it goes from there.

I'm doing the same. I've already got one foot out of the door and the only reason I haven't quit altogether is due to owning a house. Yet if 6.1 doesn't grip me? I'm out. I'm having a lot of fun with Lost Ark in a way that FFXIV just isn't allowing for any longer. I don't care about the bulk of characters that are front and centre. The ones I do like are either dead or have been quietly shuffled away to side content.

Even as far back as ARR, it was the Ascians and Garleans that intrigued me much more than any of the City States. Even the stuff that makes each City State unique and gritty is eroded away - and I'm tired of the game's increasingly preachy tone. Especially when the morals of various characters are based around plot convenience.

Attack on Titan handled the complex issue of genocide far better and with more tact than 'genocide is okay, actually, so long as crystal mommy cries, lies and dies'.

[KageTokage]

I like how someone immaturely tagged this thread as "whining" as though we're wrong for having criticism of the story.

What's done is done and there's no changing the story that's already happened, but if the writers are aware of elements that several people did not like, they may avoid making the same mistakes in the future.

Though considering that they seemed surprised by how a lot of people were interpreting/viewing Venat versus how they were expecting them to, I think they may have realized they messed up somewhere already.

But seriously, they need to just drop the time travel/causal loop nonsense and never bring it up again.

[KizuyaKatogami]

I like how someone immaturely tagged this thread as "whining" as though we're wrong for having criticism of the story.

What's done is done and there's no changing the story that's already happened, but if the writers are aware of elements that several people did not like, they may avoid making the same mistakes in the future.

Though considering that they seemed surprised by how a lot of people were interpreting/viewing Venat versus how they were expecting them to, I think they may have realized they messed up somewhere already.

But seriously, they need to just drop the time travel/causal loop nonsense and never bring it up again.

What’s ironic is i almost guarantee it was tagged as such by one of the well known people here who take offense to any form of criticism, mainly because that’s very common terminology they use. Ironically they also complain about people derailing/insulting conversations

[FudoMyoo]

I'm doing the same. I've already got one foot out of the door and the only reason I haven't quit altogether is due to owning a house. Yet if 6.1 doesn't grip me? I'm out. I'm having a lot of fun with Lost Ark in a way that FFXIV just isn't allowing for any longer. I don't care about the bulk of characters that are front and centre. The ones I do like are either dead or have been quietly shuffled away to side content.

Even as far back as ARR, it was the Ascians and Garleans that intrigued me much more than any of the City States. Even the stuff that makes each City State unique and gritty is eroded away - and I'm tired of the game's increasingly preachy tone. Especially when the morals of various characters are based around plot convenience.

Attack on Titan handled the complex issue of genocide far better and with more tact than 'genocide is okay, actually, so long as crystal mommy cries, lies and dies'.

I've taken breaks like 3 months and 6 months before in this game. When I return, I find myself still enjoying the game. Catching up is easy.

Please take a break if you feel burnt out. IMHO.

[Lauront]

It may be my understanding of the term here that's the issue, but this is less a case of burn out and more an issue of whether the game is/will be a good fit for that poster's tastes. Same with me, and several others in this thread. While the intention is to keep an eye on the new story (and also gameplay) to see if matters improve, it's different to the usual type of burn out. It's closer to how I was feeling about WoW before I quit it for good, several years and expansions ago.

On another note, an acquaintance at work that knew I played the game asked about how the expansion was going I don't know if it was my pausing or something else, but he said " I heard it was pretty bad?". Where would people be saying Endwalker, or the story for it was bad? Because it's not in the reviews, not on reddit.

Forgot to comment on this but I'm also curious. On discussion boards like this (or MMO champ, 4chan etc) there is more mixed discussion, but on sites like Reddit, it's very quickly shot down, although that site isn't very good for balanced discussion of most topics at the best of times...