I did not enjoy Shadowbringer (SPOILERS)

[ProstheticSoul]

He used clones because body hopping and altering them takes up energy. Emet doesn't enjoy using any of his aether/power if he doesn't need to. It's why he chose to live as the person he originally possssed until that body dies. Unlike Lahabreha and Elidibus who frequently body hop. To the point Lahabreha did it so much that he basically was burning the candle at both ends. They're only immortal due to the fact you can't easily kill such an aetherical dense person as an Ascian. Along with anyone who has the echo. Or at least that's what they hint at with Zenos since he didn't die and has a fake one. Though it could also be due to the fact Emet is his biological great grandfather.

As Pawpaw stated the Crystal Tower raids was optional and now is a road block soon after completing 2.0. When they made it mandatory due to how the MSQ unfolds if you hadn't done it by the start of 5.3 and you were at that point in the MSQ you'd have to go and unlock it.

Okay, this brings up another can of worms for me. I don't recall any of these details and minutiae involving body possession being debilitating to Ascians anywhere in any major cutscene. And if these points were in a major cutscene, I sure hope it wasn't some 60 hours back in one of the first quest lines in ARR. Because again, I don't have that kind of memory. You're killing me here, Square-Enix. Do I have to look this up in a book somewhere in Limsa or something? In Uldah? Is there a library in Eorzea you guys are getting all of this information from?

This brings me to another question I have. You speak of the body he originally possessed. Does this mean the founder of the Empire was NOT an Ascian but just possessed by an Ascian? Again, questions like these are just one of many I have involving the entirety of Shadowbringer. And it all eventually adds up into an amalgam of utter confusion and incomprehensibility that makes me want to tear my hair out. I have a litany of questions just like this that would destroy the character limit of a single post on here. And that's just for the first part of Shadowbringer.

[HyoMinPark]

Okay, this brings up another can of worms for me. I don't recall any of these details and minutiae involving body possession being debilitating to Ascians anywhere in any major cutscene. And if these points were in a major cutscene, I sure hope it wasn't some 60 hours back in one of the first quest lines in ARR. Because again, I don't have that kind of memory. You're killing me here, Square-Enix. Do I have to look this up in a book somewhere in Limsa or something? In Uldah? Is there a library in Eorzea you guys are getting all of this information from?

While I cannot give a definitive quest name, these revelations were not prior to ShB. During the ShB MSQ, you can actually talk to Emet-Selch each time he shows up with the Scions and he gives you tons of lore about himself, Ascians/the Unsundered, and Zodiark. I remember this information because 1. I immensely enjoyed ShB and absorbed a lot of information as a result, and 2. I’ve also done the full story multiple times.

Shadowbringer

I will also nitpick a bit here: the expansion is titled Shadowbringers. With an s. Not Shadowbringer.

[ProstheticSoul]

While I cannot give a definitive quest name, these revelations were not prior to ShB. During the ShB MSQ, you can actually talk to Emet-Selch each time he shows up with the Scions and he gives you tons of lore about himself, Ascians/the Unsundered, and Zodiark. I remember this information because 1. I immensely enjoyed ShB and absorbed a lot of information as a result, and 2. I’ve also done the full story multiple times.



I will also nitpick a bit here: the expansion is titled Shadowbringers. With an s. Not Shadowbringer.

Let me get this straight, Square-Enix. To comprehend one of, if not the most important aspects to FFXIV's narrative, (The Ascians) the player is expected to have the foresight and clairvoyance to speak to a villain optionally at his or her leisure at key moments of respite throughout the expansion of Shadowbringers to grasp most of the critical nuggets of information surrounding this mysterious and fascinating race of enigmatic body snatchers?

This is video-game writing of the worst ilk. This is not weaving the lore and backstory in a seamless way throughout the protagonist's natural progression in the MSQ. Like forcing the player to constantly pick up notes/journals/audio logs in a shooter or some other genre of game to get any sort of story or context. In short, my criticisms of Shadowbringers are now only piling up, not dwindling. Only silver lining I seem to have gleaned from making this thread is that undertaking new game+ for Shadowbringers is going to be extremely useful. Just a shame that it wouldn't be necessary if Square-Enix remotely understood how narrative coherence works.

[HyoMinPark]

Let me get this straight, Square-Enix. To comprehend one of, if not the most important aspects to FFXIV's narrative, (The Ascians) the player is expected to have the foresight and clairvoyance to speak to a villain optionally at his or her leisure at key moments of respite throughout the expansion of Shadowbringers to grasp most of the critical nuggets of information surrounding this mysterious and fascinating race of enigmatic body snatchers?

This is video-game writing of the worst ilk. This is not weaving the lore and backstory in a seamless way throughout the protagonist's natural progression in the MSQ. Like forcing the player to constantly pick up notes/journals/audio logs in a shooter or some other genre of game to get any sort of story or context. In short, my criticisms of Shadowbringers are now only piling up, not dwindling. Only silver lining I seem to have gleaned from making this thread is that undertaking new game+ for Shadowbringers is going to be extremely useful. Just a shame that it wouldn't be necessary if Square-Enix remotely understood how narrative coherence works.

I stand by what I said before: if you are this nitpicky about ShB, you won’t enjoy EW’s story.

[ProstheticSoul]

I stand by what I said before: if you are this nitpicky about ShB, you won’t enjoy EW’s story.

I would heavily beg to differ on any of my criticisms being nitpicks.

And lo and behold, yet another cut scene featuring Urangier spouting exposition with Elidibus that completely flew over my head because he is the only character in the Scion gang who insists on using Shakespearean syntax in its entirety in his manner of speech. This is growing wearisome. Each cut scene is becoming more and more tedious than the one preceding it. While I'm still trying to decipher one that occurred 10 minutes ago, another one comes along that throws me into even more of a tizzy.

I do believe I have had an epiphany. My enjoyment of an expansion is in an inverse relationship with how many instances Urianger appears in--and speaks--in any given cut scene within said expansion. The more he is involved, the less I enjoy it. Imagine Kingdom Hearts if you will. Imagine all of the terminology, the meandering stories, subplots, the characters, their subsequent interactions, the sequels upon sequels upon sequels...got all that? Good. Now replace all of the dialogue with pure, unadulterated Shakespearean vernacular.

Can someone please explain to me what just happened when the "Not Warrior of Light" created an illusion of a star shower, thereby granting the gift of the echo to all of those WoL wannabes? I mean, Urianger technically "explained" it, but I didn't get any of it.

[MistakeNot]

I would heavily beg to differ on any of my criticisms being nitpicks.

And lo and behold, yet another cut scene featuring Urangier spouting exposition with Elidibus that completely flew over my head because he is the only character in the Scion gang who insists on using Middle English in its entirety in his manner of speech. This is growing wearisome. Each cut scene is becoming more and more tedious than the one preceding it. While I'm still trying to decipher one that occurred 10 minutes ago, another one comes along that throws me into even more of a tizzy.

Urianger isn't using Middle English. The English he is using is Modern English. (Somewhat archaic English in some cases, but still Modern English). Middle English is much different.
It isn't all that difficult to understand Urianger, even if his language use tends to be a bit more convoluted than that of most other characters. You just need a decent knowledge of English.