The sad state of Coils of Bahamut.

[vetch]

That could be because the biggest "side stories" of ARR turn out to be mandatory now.

Possibly? I certainly have... opinions... on them folding optional sidestory content characters into the main story. I know this is an unpopular position because G'raha is everyone's favorite catboyfriend from everyone's favorite expansion, but if Estinien's backstory from the DRG job quests wasn't required for Heavensward and Nero's backstory from the Crystal Tower wasn't required for Stormblood, then G'raha's shouldn't have been required for Shadowbringers. There are ways to write that same plotline while leaving optional raids optional and not shoehorning more mandatory exposition during a part of the game that's already one of the most boring slogs. Anyway, that feels like a tangent.

I still think it would be far better for Coil to be possible for people to do through duty finder at 50, because while some amount of people want to rush through as fast as they can, others will prefer to do everything in the expansion before moving on to the next one. (Not just new players, but also more veteran players going back to replay the early parts of the story.) For narrative coherence it is better to do everything as it becomes available, as it keeps the story in proper chronological order.

In particular, not having done Coil at its intended place means that Alisaie's interactions with you at level 60 are more muted and you don't know her as well as you are supposed to in the "canon" all-prior-quests-completed version of the storyline.

I don't think I agree that her characterization is informed by references to the events of Coils, as sparse as the references actually are.

And this is a personal thing, but it's annoying that half of the other Scions waltz onto the stage absolutely full-to-the-bung with unearned familiarity, like they're the player's best friend from childhood. It's actually fine with me to have Alisaie keep me at a respectful distance, as opposed to Moenbryda insulting me, G'raha toying with me, or Krile launching into the hottest gossip about Alphinaud. And it's not a case of them having met or not met your character before in Coils, they're just written like twerps.

So I don't feel like I'm missing anything by not being instantly intimate friends with Alisaie... rather I feel grateful that she's a different type of character on a slower-burn trajectory. I'm not sure I'd enjoy it if the changes from completing Coils were as noticeable to me as you seem to find them.

I suppose this is all just to say that it's no comfort to me for a story to be the way you think it's supposed to be if it becomes less enjoyable as a result of having its errors removed.