Sundering stuff established in the Q&A

[MikkoAkure]

Compared to the back to back horror in ARR this isn’t really much.

Ah yes. The horrors of:
Dancing for Slyphs
"Tidus"
A Goblin invasion over a cheese recipe
Chasing down a Spriggan named "Giggity"
Good King Moggle Mog

Every main story has its light moments. It's not back-to-back bad stuff happening. And if you're doing sidequests at the same time as MSQ, ARR also has stuff like oiling up and massaging a dirty old man before he's properly introduced in the Hildebrand questline

I also think saying that the 8UC is doomed to a full rejoining is a stretch. It'd taken the Ascians 12k years to manage 8 of them, there were still 5 left and without the assistance of Lahabrea. Just because the 7th and 8th happened within ~5 years of each other doesn't mean the others were primed to topple over like dominoes.

Pretty sure it was said somewhere in the game that with each Calamity, Zodiark grows stronger and Hydaelyn grows weaker. And I thought that was taken further in Shadowbringers by someone saying that after the next one, those after would have nothing to prevent them from happening as Hydaelyn would be took weak to do anything. By the end of ARR, she's already basically at the end of her rope.