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

[Cach]

Maybe 7.0 will have a time skip or some such that allows for a soft reset on conflicts and we can get something more interesting.

My personal hope is something like "you set sail to the new world but shipwreck and are alone in a strange land with new people" or "you get sucked into another shard by yourself this time".

But I doubt Square would dare to leave you scion-less for too long.

[anhaato]

My personal hope is something like "you set sail to the new world but shipwreck and are alone in a strange land with new people" or "you get sucked into another shard by yourself this time".

But I doubt Square would dare to leave you scion-less for too long.

I seriously want us to head off to the new world and get embroiled in their conflicts over there HW-style. Traveling across either North American pine forests or Central American jungles as well as some Caribbean islands, taking refuge in one of these fabled "golden cities" that just happens to have a market board somehow even though it's very much cut off from the other continents. We could have 2 travel companions off that ship and 1 or 2 who are new world natives. End hub being based on Machu Picchu? Stuff like this that's really scaled down and kept to local affairs is where the game excels.

[Rilifane]

My personal hope is something like "you set sail to the new world but shipwreck and are alone in a strange land with new people" or "you get sucked into another shard by yourself this time".

But I doubt Square would dare to leave you scion-less for too long.

One of the reasons why I enjoyed HW was the way we got embroiled in the conflict.
We were refugees accused of regicide. We were unbelievers from outside. Ishgard has been completely closed off for several years not granting entry to people from other city-states, it was embroiled in its own war and saw outsiders as a nuisance and a hindrance in their war. Many citizens showed a very clear dislike of us, ranging from grudgingly accepting our help to outright insulting us. We had allies with the Fortemps but Edmont always stressed how important it is to step carefully and that he can't support us too openly. Artoirel was against us at first. Alphinaud and Tataru got accused of heresy in no time and it escalated into a trial by combat. Some people were sympathetic and nice towards us but the reactions were extremely mixed.
It just felt natural.
The people didn't fawn over us and worshipped the ground we walked on the moment we stepped inside the city. We weren't constantly surrounded by a holier than though squad of foreign scholars that always knew everything better than everyone else (including what they and their nation wants). Two characters didn't get along with each other at all and they didn't did a 180 because we said so. We lost two established characters, one with a very nice character arc and both have been around for some time prior to their death. We saw the direct consequences of the end of the Dragonsong War, it wasn't suddenly alright for everyone.
Many people still had their misgivings about us, doubted us and even decried us and it was completely understandable; we couldn't even resent them because we would've likely reacted the same way.
Some random from outside waltzes in and tells us all our loved ones died for a lie after we've been taught something for hundreds of years? No, sir. Not buying it. Bugger off, unbeliever.
And all of that without the Scions constantly giving exposition speeches that all sound very same-y and make clear that why, yes, of course they know better than everyone else and that their way is the right way.

We got the full scope of reactions from the characters, we weren't introduced and treated as the hero that is here to solve all your problems (whether you like it or not), we were proper refugees that had some friends in the right places but also definitely some enemies in the wrong ones.
It's almost as if a nice story functions without the Scions and constant WoL fawning. How shocking.

[PawPaw]

It's almost as if a nice story functions without the Scions and constant WoL fawning. How shocking.

I agree and I can't even pinpoint the exact moment the game went from the subtle, powerful storytelling of HW to the outright player character simping and fanservice of EW. Was is during ShB?

[aveyond-dreams]

I agree and I can't even pinpoint the exact moment the game went from the subtle, powerful storytelling of HW to the outright player character simping and fanservice of EW. Was is during ShB?

5.4, specifically when they put in the first uwu sparkly eyes G'raha Tia scene.

[PawPaw]

5.4, specifically when they put in the first uwu sparkly eyes G'raha Tia scene.

It definitely hit its stride there but I feel it also had its seeds in Alisae's constant worship of our character. That was the EP where she began to be annoying for me with the everlasting need to have contests that she can never win. And since 6.1 has set itself up with the same slice-of-life, UwU scenes that we got in EW, I do wonder if we'll be able to naturally return to the darker writing and storytelling of the past.

[aveyond-dreams]

It definitely hit its stride there but I feel it also had its seeds in Alisae's constant worship of our character. That was the EP where she began to be annoying for me with the everlasting need to have contests that she can never win. And since 6.1 has set itself up with the same slice-of-life, UwU scenes that we got in EW, I do wonder if we'll be able to naturally return to the darker writing and storytelling of the past.

With a writing team who prioritizes fanservice over action scenes and a localization team more preoccupied with discussions surrounding the pronouns of faeries than fleshing out the world, I do not have the confidence we will see a strong recovery until FFXVI releases and liberates the Heavensward team from whatever obligations they still hold.

[xxmiamorecadenza]

It definitely hit its stride there but I feel it also had its seeds in Alisae's constant worship of our character. That was the EP where she began to be annoying for me with the everlasting need to have contests that she can never win. And since 6.1 has set itself up with the same slice-of-life, UwU scenes that we got in EW, I do wonder if we'll be able to naturally return to the darker writing and storytelling of the past.

What they should have done was expand upon her attachment to Urianger that she had in ARR. Which was akin to Estienien and Alphinaud’s relationship. But instead they let it wither away. G’raha Tia is all that’s needed when it comes to a character that’s attached to you in that way. We don’t need two.