Is the WoL actually good though?

[EaraGrace]

As with all of these conversations it wholly depends on your moral and ethical framework. Without that we have nothing to judge the WoL on. Even less if you’re trying to assign the WoL some specific motivation or intent. Case in point, one persons’ character saved the Sultana because of the pay. Another did so because she was the best hope for reforming Ul’Dahn society. A completely different WoL saved her because saving a helpless stranger is what a virtuous person would do. The fact that all of them can be correct and incorrect at the same time should highlight the problem here I think.

[Cleretic]

As with all of these conversations it wholly depends on your moral and ethical framework. Without that we have nothing to judge the WoL on. Even less if you’re trying to assign the WoL some specific motivation or intent. Case in point, one persons’ character saved the Sultana because of the pay. Another did so because she was the best hope for reforming Ul’Dahn society. A completely different WoL saved her because saving a helpless stranger is what a virtuous person would do. The fact that all of them can be correct and incorrect at the same time should highlight the problem here I think.

Yeah, it's not really possible to declare someone objectively morally right or wrong. You kinda have to pick a moral framework and apply it. That said, I feel like the only moral frameworks that wouldn't call the WoL a good person are the ones that don't really judge on metrics like 'good' and 'bad'.

Putting aside the situations where the WoL doesn't really provide any input because they want the character to be a blank slate in many ways, or just because there wouldn't be a point, the character comes across as, broadly, a kind person that doesn't ask for compensation. Even consider Fray at their worst as essentially one of the only direct windows into the WoL's psyche that we've got; Fray gets mad that someone is ungrateful, but they still helped. In fact, Fray only actually got outwardly mad at someone when they actively objected to the aid they were already given. Sure, you can write in 'actually my WoL fleeced people for all they're worth every time they could', and there's technically nobody who can say they didn't, but when we do get a window into the WoL's psyche largely through dialog choices, we see someone who's always willing to help and do good, albeit maybe not necessarily someone who's happy to, and will occasionally get... weirdly spicy with people despite helping. Mostly that happened in Stormblood, and I don't know why.

In fact, I'd say the WoL is kind even beyond my own capacity to accept that about them, because there's some people they're kind about to a weird degree. The WoL is a person who will even give respect to Yotsuyu and Emet-Selch, and both of them were war criminals who tried to murder them. To a degree I can recognize that the WoL is a more forgiving and kind-hearted person than I am, but I worry about someone who can look past that.

And also, just as importantly for an ongoing story... I don't think we will ever see any story where the WoL isn't ultimately a good and kind person. Even in a game where the writers no longer want to write a straight 'heroes against villains' story, the WoL will always be a fundamentally good person, who at the end of the day is fighting for a better world. That's not even an FFXIV thing, that's an FF thing overall; every single FF protagonist is a good person. Even if they were jerks about it in the late 90's for some reason.

EDIT: Also, on a game design perspective, every MMO player character that isn't explicitly a villain is ultimately a good and helpful person, it helps with the game design. All of our characters are helpful busybodies, because only a helpful busybody would do all these goddamn quests.