What's the point with that quite lackluster story in Endwalker?

[MagiusNecros]

I don't understand how DRK questline can be so good but the story be so bad. And I think Ishikawa wrote both?

I mean personally even ShB story I felt was good but the pacing overall in Endwalker is so rushed and all over the place that it comes off as cheap anime garbage.

And I'm seeing more of the same overall with Buried Memory.

The fights are amazing. The story not so much.

[Adamantini]

I don't understand how DRK questline can be so good but the story be so bad. And I think Ishikawa wrote both?

I mean personally even ShB story I felt was good but the pacing overall in Endwalker is so rushed and all over the place that it comes off as cheap anime garbage.

And I'm seeing more of the same overall with Buried Memory.

The fights are amazing. The story not so much.

what I believe, is that the game becoming so popular made SE completely lose control of things. They have no idea what the players like, so whatever becomes popular, they amplify in the story, but they do it so intensely it gets sickening.

Why do I think so?

Graha'tia - character adored by everyone in SHB, and many talked about the scene in which he is embarrassed because they think it's cute. Now Graha doesn't stop following us, being cute. It's just an expendable character.

Characters not dying - they are simply afraid to kill any character and make the fanbase angry. No one relevant has died since post HW, if I'm not mistaken.

Attempts to make it very emotional - one of the most popular video themes on SHB was about players crying with 5.3. Now, even in praetorium our character does a scene worthy of a Mexican soap opera, because a robot stopped working.

[Zanarkand-Ronso]

They have no idea what the players like

I dont think this is true. Sure, you will NEVER please everybody, but I think they do a pretty good job at making people happy and doing things people love.
Just at the same time, they also do things people dont like. Its the problem with having to much diversity and variety, that one side will start getting under developed, while the other gets over developed. Sometimes they hot the mark in some areas, other times they completly miss it and make people upset.

[Adamantini]

...

maybe you're right, but Yoshi P saying things like "we didn't expect the public reaction" regarding the poor hair quality of hrothgars in 6.1 (the ones without ears), makes me believe that they really have no idea of their players. Just ask anyone what the endgame of the FFXIV is, and most will answer "glammour", whether it's a joke or serious, after all, most players take appearance seriously. They got the SHB right, but in my head, they don't understand why.

...

I believe the idea was to make praetorium more fluid, but right after that they add a longer cutscene just to show our character making drama because the armor stopped working.
But you're right. The original cutscene generated more emotion without touching my character, so I would imagine what he was feeling the moment magitek recognized us. Today I have to accept that he has feelings for a lot of iron.

[Ameela]

Now, even in praetorium our character does a scene worthy of a Mexican soap opera, because a robot stopped working.

Lol wow you weren't kidding, what's even the point of that? Surely the last thing you'd want to add to the Praetorium is MORE cutscenes.
The ironic thing is that the cutscene of the armor recognizing you from the old version felt like a much more natural and unique way of establishing an emotional connection to it, no idea why they'd cut that since it was like 15 seconds long.

[ReynTime]

I didn't think any story was going to be more uninteresting to me than SB, but EW did it. Whoever wrote it is to be congratulated.

If there are three things I can't stand this game anymore, it's:

fake deaths
flashback scenes to explain to me what was just said (I'm not stupid, I get it)
scenes clearly done in an attempt to make me cry (seriously, they ruined the Haurchefant scene with so much flashback. I roll my eyes every time it happens)

I liked Stormblood. The Ala Mhigan side was a bit dull, but they coupled a war-centric storyline with a more traditional long journey to a set destination like Heavensward's first half, which is something I have always enjoyed in the classic Final Fantaies as opposed to the "mission" based structure of ARR and Endwalker.

I don't understand how DRK questline can be so good but the story be so bad. And I think Ishikawa wrote both?

I mean personally even ShB story I felt was good but the pacing overall in Endwalker is so rushed and all over the place that it comes off as cheap anime garbage.

And I'm seeing more of the same overall with Buried Memory.

The fights are amazing. The story not so much.

Ishikawa's DRK questline is another example of her annoying tendency of taking the player avatar out of the WoL by forcing specific thought process or feelings towards another character. Can SE please just stop dancing around the issue and give the trailer midlander the name John Finalfantasy and admit he's a default main character with his own personality please.

[Ishe-P]

Can SE please just stop dancing around the issue and give the trailer midlander the name John Finalfantasy and admit he's a default main character with his own personality please.

Hard agree! I did some ARR questing on an alt and you are treated like some random guy, like a player avatar. More of that! (It's too late now, we can't go back, but could dampen the effects of being the Hero of the Galaxy/Universe). Can someone explain to me if it's a gamer thing that saving the world is the only thing worth while in modern role playing games? What about foiling Lex Luthor's plot to steal the diamond? (I've definitely expressed this opinion before, possibly even in this thread)

[Adamantini]

I liked Stormblood. The Ala Mhigan side was a bit dull, but they coupled a war-centric storyline with a more traditional long journey to a set destination like Heavensward's first half, which is something I have always enjoyed in the classic Final Fantaies as opposed to the "mission" based structure of ARR and Endwalker.

my eternal tantrum with SB is the fact that you have the anime villain that never dies, or that everything you do is part of his plan.
Tsukuyomi, for example, we get into combat with her, then she is cut by the Hien, and a roof falls on her, and she doesn't die.
I don't like the way they told the story too. Several times I thought about giving up reading, it was so boring. But that's my opinion and personal taste.

Ishikawa's DRK questline is another example of her annoying tendency of taking the player avatar out of the WoL by forcing specific thought process or feelings towards another character. Can SE please just stop dancing around the issue and give the trailer midlander the name John Finalfantasy and admit he's a default main character with his own personality please.

Yes! I don't see myself as my character has been for a while anymore. In this expansion, I really wanted to delete him when we got to Elpis and he got the role of the stray dog, all the time making a sad face. When I think of my character, I think of a vindictive/mocking guy, not a sad guy who would put up with Emet-Selch talking shit all the time while making a pity face. My character just doesn't represent me anymore, I don't even know who he is.