Ardbert's Party vs the Scions Analysis

[VelKallor]

Zanarkand: all this guy is saying is what HE doesnt like with no alternatives...he actually has no constructive ideas and no plan besides "Everyone says they dont like this"..and when asked who "everyone" is...silence.

[VelKallor]

There is no reason why another hub city and associated npcs could not have served the functions you have described

Who and where? Radz at Han? Is already taken. Again do you have the story draft to cover it via MSQ?

. I would have preferred one set in Ilsabard, or perhaps within a larger sized space ship.

Built by WHO? When? With what resources? For what purpose? How would you tie this into the story and with what content? Using what resources? How would this fit into the story? Why would they be building a starship and for what purpose? You've already eliminated Sharlayan so BOOM goes that arc.

[aveyond-dreams]

Who and where? Radz at Han? Is already taken. Again do you have the story draft to cover it via MSQ?



Built by WHO? When? With what resources? For what purpose? How would you tie this into the story and with what content? Using what resources? How would this fit into the story? Why would they be building a starship and for what purpose? You've already eliminated Sharlayan so BOOM goes that arc.

Anyone, really. But in terms of story drafts I will link you to my previous Rewritten MSQ thread which you can find here. Though at the time I did not make Sharlayan a wholly antagonistic city state, it nevertheless proposes a scenario with the level of intrigue and tension I would have expected out of the final arcs of Season 1.

[VelKallor]

Ok so what was the 2nd visit to Labyrinthos? If they want to make FFXIV cater to those who favor single player games (like myself) then I will hold them to that standard

Im going to be blunt here..if you cant or wont provide any backdrop or any real ideas as to how to make half this stuff work, leave it to people who know how to write MMO MSQ.

ONE dungeon leading where? To what? Why? What story does it fulfil? After thats done ..........then what? Where do you go once the dungeon is finished? Whats next? Whats the next chapter?

[VelKallor]

Anyone, really. But in terms of story drafts I will link you to my previous Rewritten MSQ thread which you can find here.

From that thread

Attempting to re-write what millions of people love just because a few people can't accept it is another.

Though at the time I did not make Sharlayan a wholly antagonistic city state,

What was Idyllshire..or had you forgotten that it used to be a Sharlayan outpost dedicated to LEARNING and open to all?

WHEN in the entire game has Sharlayan EVER been antagonistic towards anyone?? Or did you miss that? When in ARR / Stormblood / Shadowbringers has Sharlayan even ever been hinted at as hostile?

Answer: never

[Zanarkand-Ronso]

Ok so what was the 2nd visit to Labyrinthos? If they want to make FFXIV cater to those who favor single player games (like myself) then I will hold them to that standard.

.....us going further/deeper into the area now that we had access to go into an area that was blocked off to us beforehand, because now it was relevant for the later part of the story?
The Single-Player Experience that you are talking about is the ability to play this MMO by yourself if you so chose. That doesn't change the writing into what you deem it to be my dude. Your Standard will not be met.

Season 1.

I find it funny that you call the End of the Haydalyn & Zodiark Saga Season One.
When its been told though 1.0, Arr, HW, SB, ShB, AND Ew.
Thats 4 expansions (or 5 if you count Arr) of story telling, and you consider that One whole season.
Thats like 4 - 5 Seasons...and if history of other televisions shows remain true...your going to hate the Next Season. Your standards and expectations are going to be crushed in season 5 or 6 of FFXIV

[VelKallor]

To do half this stuff, Aveyond is going to have to retcon FOUR expansions.....yeah not happening.

He has also forgotten that Sharlayan was HOME to G'raha Tia, Alisae, Thancred, Alphinaud, Krile, Yshtola, Urianger. Papalymo...so how can they have a home that was antagonistic to the Eorzean Alliance? For them to then start working FOR the Grand Companies, how does this new 'story" explain that?....or had he also forgotten that Yshtola was assigned TO the Maelstrom?

Writing is like a vast tapestry, and when you pull on one thread, a dozen more suddenly unravel.

[VelKallor]

So tell me Aveyond, where would YOU put the content for crafters / gatherers, what would YOU do with the custom deliveries..what would YOU put in place of the content you want removed?

[Iscah]

WHEN in the entire game has Sharlayan EVER been antagonistic towards anyone?? Or did you miss that? When in ARR / Stormblood / Shadowbringers has Sharlayan even ever been hinted at as hostile?

Answer: never

I actually think there was a fair bit of foreshadowing potential for Sharlayan to be antagonistic, and I do think it all got resolved a bit too... nicely? Un-dramatically? for how it had been set up. You had Fourchenault clearly keeping secrets, the Forum voting unanimously and suggesting some kind of cover-up or even mind control, which would suggest tempering. For all we knew in the lead-up, there could have been a primal in the heart of the city, or Hydaelyn's influence deliberately or accidentally influencing them to do "something" that would have been a hypothetical plot point.

There was also a line of theorising on Sharlayan architecture's resemblance to the decor style of Anamnesis, and whether some kind of surviving Ancient (not necessarily Ascian-aligned) could be in control of the city.

I was also expecting Labyrinthos to be played as something more ominous and concealed than it was, though maybe that would be harder to do while keeping it as somewhere we can freely go in and out of.

All that said, I think a more ominous Sharlayan still could have worked as the hub it is, since all the "friendly side content" is coming from other organisations to the one doing all the antagonising and secret-keeping and indicating it doesn't want you here poking around. Or you could spin it as them trying to give you busywork to keep you out of their actual plans.

On the other hand they could have switched and made Sharlayan the endgame hub despite visiting it first, like they did with Rhalgr's Reach. Sharlayan would be the researchers developing cutting-edge new gear; Radz-at-Han would have the array of normal shops open from the start, and perhaps crafter quests could be doing stuff for the alchemists or something... or could still be back in Sharlayan. Levequests could be procuring goods for the markets, and custom deliveries can and do go anywhere the devs feel like putting them. (Ameliance in hypothetical endgame-hub Sharlayan in 6.1 would actually be a closer equivalent to Kai-Shirr in Eulmore in 5.1.)

It's possible the only block to making Radz-at-Han the early hub was their wanting to stage the Final Days stuff there, which presumably requires locking you out of the city so you don't bypass their plot triggers.

Regardless of those details, it would not require any change to our interactions with the Scions. Our friends can still turn up for a meal in our room, and have heartfelt conversations on the eve of battle. If anything it would call for more moments of levity to break the tension – it already felt like a very heavy story, and even those happy moments have a shadow over them by the knowledge of storms on the horizon.

[Kazhar]

WHEN in the entire game has Sharlayan EVER been antagonistic towards anyone?? Or did you miss that? When in ARR / Stormblood / Shadowbringers has Sharlayan even ever been hinted at as hostile?

Answer: never

AST quests where a faction literally sent assassins? Or the countless times Matoya and Louisoix (both mentor characters and moral compasses) were said to disagree with their policies on major subjects? The story rarely framed their extreme pacific stance as being reasonable either. Even the Endwalker trailer and the 5.5 patch presented them as overly antagonistic, so you don't even have to go that far.

It's incredibly disingenuous to claim they never have been antagonistic towards anyone.