We are brutal to the beast tribes

[Cleretic]

Well, the reason in 2.0 is because the elementals got seriously neutered when the Twelveswood was torched by the Calamity. The entire West Shroud was leveled and burnt to the ground and the elementals have been reduced to only sending treants and angry animals at those who commit woodsin. This is why the Wood Wailers and Gods' Quiver are feeling so overwhelmed at the start of 2.0 and the entire South Shroud is overrun with poachers who normally would've been dusted by the elementals.

And on a more meta level it's because the ARR-onward developers didn't want to do that story. There was a big change in tone and direction between 1.0 and 2.0, and this was just part of it. My guess is the reasoning had three facets.

1. During ARR they didn't know they'd get to do anything else, the project was just 'make sure there's something not-shameful that we can call FFXIV'. That means focusing down the main story, which means filing off some of the more prevalent further content hooks 1.0 had.
2. Take away any inherent starting-zone bias in potential later content. 1.0 was setting the Shroud up to be the core of the endgame, which would make the people who started elsewhere feel a bit second-class. Basically the reason Revenant's Toll exists.
3. Just straight-up tonal difference. I don't know what 1.0's plans for the Shroud were exactly, but given the live game scaled back a bunch of the dark elements in 1.0 it's entirely possible that whatever was planned was just NOT something the new developers wanted to touch.

[SentioftheHoukai]

And on a more meta level it's because the ARR-onward developers didn't want to do that story. There was a big change in tone and direction between 1.0 and 2.0, and this was just part of it. My guess is the reasoning had three facets.

1. During ARR they didn't know they'd get to do anything else, the project was just 'make sure there's something not-shameful that we can call FFXIV'. That means focusing down the main story, which means filing off some of the more prevalent further content hooks 1.0 had.
2. Take away any inherent starting-zone bias in potential later content. 1.0 was setting the Shroud up to be the core of the endgame, which would make the people who started elsewhere feel a bit second-class. Basically the reason Revenant's Toll exists.
3. Just straight-up tonal difference. I don't know what 1.0's plans for the Shroud were exactly, but given the live game scaled back a bunch of the dark elements in 1.0 it's entirely possible that whatever was planned was just NOT something the new developers wanted to touch.

Not even gonna lie, it does interest me where they'd have taken that. Gaia's Wrath giving abusers of what's not truly theirs out of conceit what's coming to them just appeals to me as a concept. I can see why they'd not want such in their game though, they tend to put the more...... divisive topics on the back-burner or keep them out of focus, so to speak.

[Brightamethyst]

Gaia's Wrath giving abusers of what's not truly theirs out of conceit what's coming to them just appeals to me as a concept.

Problem is, that's not the only thing happening. The elementals aren't benevolent protectors of the forest. They're unpredictable forces of nature. Incredibly quick to anger and will punish pretty much anyone for any reason whether they deserve it or not, and feel completely justified in doing so. That's not justice, it's arrogance and bullying.

Just look at the EW tank role quests...