Tales from the Dawn #3: "A Question of Life" (Hermes)

[SannaR]

There is a lot I want to know about the ancient world for sure, but they are most likely closing the chapter on the ancients. There is so much of Eorzea and it's many cultures I want to know about as well. Making such a compelling world is truly a curse, when you only have so much time and resources to fully explore it.

Oh definitely. And even though I know and a few others would love to know more about them. I do know and sometimes feel the same way those who are super done with them and their story that we don't get any more about them. Somewhat how many after the Nier raids were overly glee full when the dev team had announced that EW's raids were going to not have any hint of any cross over. While also hoping that they don't go back to cross overs with 7.0.

Meanwhile I also want to know more about other cultures that we haven't come across or the few ones we have seen, but have barely anything about them. Like the Source's Qiqirn We have the ones from the new world that look like XI's Qiqirn and then the ones that are poofy(?) that live in the Peaks.

[RukoBoshi]

Oh definitely. And even though I know and a few others would love to know more about them. I do know and sometimes feel the same way those who are super done with them and their story that we don't get any more about them. Somewhat how many after the Nier raids were overly glee full when the dev team had announced that EW's raids were going to not have any hint of any cross over. While also hoping that they don't go back to cross overs with 7.0.

Meanwhile I also want to know more about other cultures that we haven't come across or the few ones we have seen, but have barely anything about them. Like the Source's Qiqirn We have the ones from the new world that look like XI's Qiqirn and then the ones that are poofy(?) that live in the Peaks.

Yep, i'd rather have original stories for the raids and Alliance raids than crossover.
I feel there's a lot of place to explore more and to discover, but not enough contents to properly use them.

I really hope Garlemald gets some side content soon, we'll definitely go back there for the main story, but it is depressing how underutilised it is right now.
I hope the deep dungeon is there.

Concerning the Qiqirns i don't really know how to feel about them. They reminds me that we were robbed the opportunity to get Burmecians from FFIX that looks way better and that i appreciate more.
If they show up again in the MSQ, i hope they don't take too much space compared to the potential new races of the new world.

[Tehmon]

Oh definitely. And even though I know and a few others would love to know more about them. I do know and sometimes feel the same way those who are super done with them and their story that we don't get any more about them. Somewhat how many after the Nier raids were overly glee full when the dev team had announced that EW's raids were going to not have any hint of any cross over. While also hoping that they don't go back to cross overs with 7.0.

Meanwhile I also want to know more about other cultures that we haven't come across or the few ones we have seen, but have barely anything about them. Like the Source's Qiqirn We have the ones from the new world that look like XI's Qiqirn and then the ones that are poofy(?) that live in the Peaks.

Oh tell me about it, I am so excited for the current raids being their own thing and seemingly quite important lore-wise. I'm moreso interested in them than the MSQ currently, since void interests me... not one bit really, outside of the voidsent being quite fun as characters, and hoping that we'll somehow connect this plotline with the Cylva & Unukalhai one.

I think Squeenix should just start publishing novels and comics. The short stories are fine but it's nothing compared to something novel-length, or more visual. I don't think it'd be a bad investment either.

[Hurlstone]

Oh tell me about it, I am so excited for the current raids being their own thing and seemingly quite important lore-wise. I'm moreso interested in them than the MSQ currently, since void interests me... not one bit really, outside of the voidsent being quite fun as characters, and hoping that we'll somehow connect this plotline with the Cylva & Unukalhai one.

I think Squeenix should just start publishing novels and comics. The short stories are fine but it's nothing compared to something novel-length, or more visual. I don't think it'd be a bad investment either.

I 100% agree about the novels/comics part. Say what you will about WoW and its story, but they actually did rather a few good novels that actually... contained lore! FXIV is the perfect world to do this in, as there are so many past stories that they can mine for content, from the Ancients timeline (Who could have their own series of stories tackling everything from the different cultures outside Amaurot , to how their society came to being) to the Calamities of the past, and what those forgone Shards where like. This is a game where the story takes precedent, and I feel that should be expanded, so long as said content did not include must-know aspects of lore (Another sin WoW was guilty off…)

I agree about the Raids too (Though I am very much enjoying the Void stuff haha). I liked the Nier ones, but its nice having a story that explores apart of this games world. I have always been curious about the Twelve ever since ARR, and now its nice we are looking to get some answer finally! Thank the… umm, Twelve!

[RyuDragnier]

Concerning the Qiqirns i don't really know how to feel about them. They reminds me that we were robbed the opportunity to get Burmecians from FFIX that looks way better and that i appreciate more.
If they show up again in the MSQ, i hope they don't take too much space compared to the potential new races of the new world.

I suspect that any Burmecians we see may end up being in Meracydia, since the terrain of Cleyra (top of a giant tree overlooking desert) would fit the Africa/Australia combination they're hinting that Meracydia has.

[SannaR]

Oh tell me about it, I am so excited for the current raids being their own thing and seemingly quite important lore-wise. I'm moreso interested in them than the MSQ currently, since void interests me... not one bit really, outside of the voidsent being quite fun as characters, and hoping that we'll somehow connect this plotline with the Cylva & Unukalhai one.

I think Squeenix should just start publishing novels and comics. The short stories are fine but it's nothing compared to something novel-length, or more visual. I don't think it'd be a bad investment either.

I'm interested in the void stuff mostly to see how they weave in the FF IV stuff into XIV. My wildest theory is Golbez is somehow Vrtra's sister. It would fit the character and they already somewhat gave us a swerve with making Barabriccia second instead of Cagganizo. The raids for the first time in years have made me water at the mouth and want more vs how for me that type of feeling normally comes from the MSQ. Only time ShB msq didn't make me feel that way was 5.2. The wait what in 5.2 didn't happen in the msq which was a let down. For some reason they went and hid it inside the Wyrlet story.

[Lyth]

I don't think that this discussion has ever been about Venat vs. Emet 'factions'. After about ten months of hearing this debate and circular claims on how the story 'ought' to have been written in favor of the Ascians in order to be considered 'good writing', I think most of us are ready to move on from Amaurot for good.

And that's in the best interests of the story as well. There's a danger in building 'Matryoshka' style puppetmasters, in that it devalues the lower tiers. A lot of Garlemald's story potential was robbed simply because Varis was revealed to be nothing more than a puppet dictator installed by Emet. Were he a stronger character, one capable of standing toe to toe with the Ascians and using them for his own personal ends, then there would have been more room to create political intrigue around him and his nation. But when we demonstrated that we were able to overpower Emet, what value was left in Varis? He's a lower rung villain.

The same issue sits exists with Allag as well. The instant that you can just reduce them down to 'ah, they were just pawns of the Ascians' then they lose their individual value. That's why I think it's better to expand out horizontally rather than vertically. Show us other schemers.

I do think that southern Ilsabard has a lot of potential, as does the Void. There's a lot of lore snippets in the Bozja notes in particular that can be expanded on, if you look carefully at them. Likewise, one of the interesting things about the Voidsent at the moment is that they don't seem to be under anyone's thumb.

There's nothing to say that we can't see more of the Amaurotines at some point in the future. They're fun characters. But I think that they need to be laid to rest for long time to allow other plotlines room to flourish.

[KageTokage]

I'd agree the Ascians no longer being in the picture (For now, at least...) has really freed things up storywise.

The implication from the latest short story that the remaining Garlean legions are trying to split their respective provinces into independent nations has strong potential for some interesting storytelling, so I really hope 7.x gives that some focus.

[Causante]

After about ten months of hearing this debate and circular claims on how the story 'ought' to have been written in favor of the Ascians in order to be considered 'good writing', I think most of us are ready to move on from Amaurot for good.

I feel that's not what people have been saying at all. Time travel, convenient memory erasure, dynamis, vague and contradictory depiction of the sundering are the things people generally point out as being badly written.

Shadowbringers spent a lot of time humanizing and painting ancient society (not the ascians) in a positive light, alluding to their ultimate demise as a tragedy, so of course a lot of people were going to feel upset about the events that happen in endwalker.

[Lyth]

No, I believe that people are genuinely tired of the negativity, my new old friend.

I'll try to articulate my feelings as best I can: A small percentage of every fandom inevitably reminds me of this old tweet...

@SamSykesSwears
Stages of a Toxic Fandom:
1. I love this
2. I own this
3. I control this
4. I can't control this
5. I hate this
6. I must destroy this

...and they tend to have more free time and passion to engage in that behavior (and more conviction it's worth it to do so), than I will ever have. For better and worse, the popularity of FINAL FANTASY XIV is so high that said percentage is quite a lot of people in raw numbers. Several spaces where FFXIV discussion takes place have had their vibe (for lack of a more concise word) annihilated by small-but-loud trends somewhere in the ballpark of "my opinions are facts, the story is bad if it doesn't cater to my preferences, and I don't care if I ruin experience of others who are trying to enjoy talking about it".

This game is for millions of people. It's going to let you down and frustrate you sometimes, because if it catered to just your personality it wouldn't be a game for millions of people. The devs sometimes makes choices that frustrate me, too, but I can usually see why those choices were made. I can understand that there will be people who love it, too, and that day just wasn't my day to share in the preferences catered to. Often I'd argue that the game is better for more people by choosing to let me down that day, and I learn to love what I had a negative reaction to at first in a different way.

But I play, analyze, and talk about this game for fun. I pay a subscription fee for the privilege of having fun.

Being inundated by toxicity and vitriol isn't fun.

And that's the question I've been made to grapple with when it came to engaging this space, which I used to be a multiple-times-per-day occurrence that I valued dearly:
Why am I participating in an activity for the sole purpose of having fun and not having fun? Why am I investing my time and energy into something that makes me miserable?

Worth reflecting on, as always.

If you want to be passionate about Amaurot, Garlemald, or the Voidsent, that's great. I tend to have a soft spot for the antagonists of stories myself. And more often than not, I find myself able to justify both sides of a debate without getting emotionally attached to just one, regardless of what I may publicly express. And I believe that uncertainty is an essential quality in any truth-finding process, be it lore or science.

Pretty much anyone here who's willing to stick around for nearly 10 years to follow the twists and turns of the story does so out of genuine love for the game. We can support different characters with opposing viewpoints and yet still feel excited to talk about it. But we're not here to control its direction or dictate how it should have been written. Let's just enjoy the ride. And if that ever becomes too tough, and you lose that sense of joy, then perhaps it's simply time to let those who still have that sense of joy continue to do so. That's the only 'faction' that I'm unconditionally and unambiguously willing to support.