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

[Nilroreo]

For all you know, maybe she TRIED to tell people exactly what happened, and everyone was just like 'oh great, the former member of the convocation's off her rocker.

She didn't, Nobody other than her understood the true nature of the final days, so its safe to assume she didn't share enough.

So the reality is probably somewhere in between 'her being laughed at like a crazy person' and 'her sitting around doing nothing the whole time'

Ignoring the fact Venat was a highly revered member of their society whose warnings would be very unlikely to engender skepticism, coupled with the fact that all ancients had the echo which would have allowed them to discern the truth for themselves anyways, Emet had little reason to believe our story, and yet he still cared enough to investigate Hermes of his on volition. Despite how implausible our story seemed to him, the safeguarding of Etheirys was still his highest priority and would do anything to preserve its existence.

[Teraq]

Also can I just say it feels so good to finally talk to people who hated EW too. Whenever anything negative is mentioned about EW on social media you get hounded and everyone calls you crazy.

I've been starting to think that something is wrong with me when the story is so glaringly bad in my eyes but nobody else sees it that way.

Every time I see a new person on this thread post this, it feels so heartwarming, I genuinely mean it.

Honestly it was so bad early December. I was able to burn through MSQ in 3-4 days because I had no queue due to being European on NA DC. As a result I knew everything while my friends were just slogging through the early levels, and of course they wanted no spoilers, so I just sat there simmering at this bizarrely convoluted and utterly unsatisfying storyline that disappointed me so much. I turned to Reddit, and nearly instantly unsubscribed from the main sub when seeing the seemingly universally positive response. Got dogpiled for saying something felt deeply wrong about what the story wanted to tell me about Venat and the narrative surrounding Ancients, and that it all felt emotionally manipulative. I felt crazy. I only found solace reading a couple of posts on the discussion subreddit that shared my opinion of how absurd the plot was. Stopped going on Twitter as well as soon as I stumbled upon kawaii uguu art of the World Unsundered's saddest vegan edgelord retweeted by some of the Ascian enjoyers I followed, because I will do anything for love, but I won't do that.

Thankfully my friends allowed me to unleash spoilers on them mid/late December, and it turned out they found the whole thing weirdly stupid and borderline insulting as well.

And, the most bizarre thing of all: the dreaded official forums that Reddit so loves to deride as a hive of scum and villainy were the only place that felt sane. How the turn tables!

[Rulakir]

This was probably the biggest let down for me and Elpis was an emotional rollercoaster that kept playing with my wish to save the ancients then brutally tearing it away again.

Same. I was expecting an AU coming off of ShB and, despite what Elidibus said, both Venat and Hythlodaeus state while we cannot change our own future we may yet be able to change theirs. I don't have to tell you to imagine my disappointment because you experienced it. As soon as Hermes whipped out Kairos, the fury I felt. Then watching Emet & Hyth have their memories wiped I just started sobbing. I was/am so angry. Not even at Hermes, but at the writers.

I still had some measure of hope for Venat because by telling her about the future we'd given her the opportunity for a redo. Surely she would do things differently knowing how they turned out, but nope! She rattles off her nonsensical list as to why she's going to do everything the same and then I'm subjected to the atrocious cutscene people praise of her pity walk through the ages after she decides to genocide her race. Spare me.

I would say I emotionally tapped out of EW at that point but, no, they had to twist the knife by bringing Emet & Hyth back in Ultima Thule and again I sobbed with fury at the writers for doing this to my two favorite characters. I saw someone on Reddit comment that EW was cathartic. I have no idea how. Anyone who was a fan of the Ancients the story couldn't have gone any worse than it did. I will perpetually feel unfulfilled because of this ridiculous time loop.

[SieyaM]

I keep thinking back to the and of 1.0 and what I've read about it, and that seems to be more like an end of days than anything we got with EW. Terrain actually changed, cities experience monster invasions and the red moon Dalamud would appear closer and closer in the sky. These are things that would make the world feel like something is actually happening, rather than just changing the weather in two zones.

[OhNooo]

I keep thinking back to the and of 1.0 and what I've read about it, and that seems to be more like an end of days than anything we got with EW. Terrain actually changed, cities experience monster invasions and the red moon Dalamud would appear closer and closer in the sky. These are things that would make the world feel like something is actually happening, rather than just changing the weather in two zones.

When I saw the EW benchmark trailer where it had everyone fighting together, it made me think we'd get some huge ingame end of the world scenario like they got in 1.0. I was so excited. What a missed opportunity. We could've had mobs spawning inside cities, terrain changes, etc to make it really feel like the final days.

[not_ya_wify]

That's why I liken Venat's actions to an act of ruthless utilitarian calculus. There are plenty of scenarios in which they could've resulted in better outcomes than had she not done anything, as heinous as they were.

That just ends up making Venat an even bigger hypocrite though, and doesn't negate the rest of your post.

Utilitarianism is literally "the greatest happiness for the greatest number."

Venat condemning every living being to eternal suffering is the opposite of utilitarianism.

[Lauront]

Just some advice, I'd recommend not making posts in succession, as there's a daily post limit on the forum - it's better to try consolidate posts into one. You can exceed the character limit for the post by making it and then hitting edit, and adding more in.

[not_ya_wify]

Just some advice, I'd recommend not making posts in succession, as there's a daily post limit on the forum - it's better to try consolidate posts into one. You can exceed the character limit for the post by making it and then hitting edit, and adding more in.

Thanks but quoting from several posts is incredibly cumbersome on mobile and for some reason I have no way of circumventing the character limit. I also cannot edit or delete my posts which is really annoying because I just posted a whole long thing with quick reply and it only posted the first sentence, so I'll put it in here:

Same. I was expecting an AU coming off of ShB and, despite what Elidibus said, both Venat and Hythlodaeus state while we cannot change our own future we may yet be able to change theirs. I don't have to tell you to imagine my disappointment because you experienced it. As soon as Hermes whipped out Kairos, the fury I felt. Then watching Emet & Hyth have their memories wiped I just started sobbing. I was/am so angry. Not even at Hermes, but at the writers.

I still had some measure of hope for Venat because by telling her about the future we'd given her the opportunity for a redo. Surely she would do things differently knowing how they turned out, but nope! She rattles off her nonsensical list as to why she's going to do everything the same and then I'm subjected to the atrocious cutscene people praise of her pity walk through the ages after she decides to genocide her race. Spare me.

I would say I emotionally tapped out of EW at that point but, no, they had to twist the knife by bringing Emet & Hyth back in Ultima Thule and again I sobbed with fury at the writers for doing this to my two favorite characters. I saw someone on Reddit comment that EW was cathartic. I have no idea how. Anyone who was a fan of the Ancients the story couldn't have gone any worse than it did. I will perpetually feel unfulfilled because of this ridiculous time loop.

OMG FINALLY SOMEONE UNDERSTANDS

Honestly, I didn't have nearly as negative a reaction to Hermes as to Venat, because Hermes is presented as the villain and we see his mental decline continuing in Amon and Fandaniel. Venat on the other hand does all these atrocious things and the game forces us to smile and say "mommy makes everything right."

It's my head canon now that Hydaelyn tempered us which is why we cannot disagree with her or hold her accountable and why we keep indulging her cruelty. I sometimes make up stories in my head about my reflection on another shard in which Emet-Selch helps the WoL undo her tempering (before Shadowbringers) and I get to oppose her and try to find a compromise with Emet-Selch to find a way to rejoin souls without causing calamities. I know this will never happen but I need that to cope.

Think you mean Fandaniel/Hermes. Themis is a good boy.

Yeah that was a brain fart. Sorry about that but I think you know whom I meant

[Lauront]

Ah, I see... yeah mobile is a pain, because of those very issues you mention.

[Rulakir]

It's my head canon now that Hydaelyn tempered us which is why we cannot disagree with her or hold her accountable and why we keep indulging her cruelty.

Same. It's both laughable and disturbing how much more EW makes sense if you add in Hydaelyn tempering.

My headcanon is if Zodiark was needed to maintain the aetheric barrier then Hydaelyn was needed to maintain the sundering, so without her the effects will begin to reverse themselves. It may take centuries, but eventually all will return to the way it was. This is still within character for Venat too as her goals were to defeat Metetion and introduce suffering. Now that both those have been achieved there's no reason for things to remain separated.