I don't want to see any of the other Scions in 7.0.

[Mimilu]

All I know is that I no longer care to go to locations that are little more than lazy caricatures of cultures like Thavnair. I don't want to suffer through a Meracydian expansion with kangaroo beastmen who live on a giant rock copypasted from actual Australia. They need to get creative and stick with high fantasy instead of ticking off representing cultures XYZ off a checklist.

I always assumed Meracydia is more of an Africa allusion then Australia; Eorzea is a mix of the Western Europe and the Mediterranean (which includes the top of Africa and the Middle East), Ilsabard being Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and most of Asia (excluding East and South-East Asia), and Othard being East Asia. (๑•̆૩•̆)

[aveyond-dreams]

I always assumed Meracydia is more of an Africa allusion then Australia; Eorzea is a mix of the Western Europe and the Mediterranean (which includes the top of Africa and the Middle East), Ilsabard being Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and most of Asia (excluding East and South-East Asia), and Othard being East Asia. (๑•̆૩•̆)

In either case, I truly believe that trying to do 1:1 references to various real-world regions was a mistake. It's made some aspects of the setting boring at best and borderline offensive at worst.

Neither fantasy Africa nor fantasy Australia is a good starting point for this next arc, not when so many more appealing aspects of basic fantasy elements are so lacking in this game outside of what we had back in Heavensward and Shadowbringers. Especially if the scions tag along and engage in another deluge of preaching to the native cultures.

[Carin-Eri]

Whilst am indifferent about the Scions generally, I do hope that - if we visit Meracydia - Estinien might come along. We know that Bahamut, Tiamat and Azdaja lived there, and depending on how events play out in 6.4, Azdaja may want to go back there.

And this would actually give us a reason to go there in the first place.

[Mimilu]

Neither fantasy Africa nor fantasy Australia is a good starting point for this next arc, not when so many more appealing aspects of basic fantasy elements are so lacking in this game outside of what we had back in Heavensward and Shadowbringers.

Like what? （*・o ・*）?

[aveyond-dreams]

Like what? （*・o ・*）?

Well for a start thanks to the genius writing of Endwalker, every other culture's religions outside Eorzea were pretty much confirmed as fake and the gods we are seemingly stuck with are goofy individuals who inspire more cringe than awe.

Magical civilizations - such as in the style of Mhach and Amdapor would be extant in most other mmorpgs and it would be wonderful to visit such civilizations as the player character and experience storylines set there. Instead all we have in terms of that in this game are ruins, and confined to raid storylines only. Although WoW had a writer who went rogue and destroyed Teldrassil, cities like Silvermoon and Suramar are some of the sort of places that I feel FFXIV would benefit from including in its setting.



The destruction of Garlemald and both a location and its government also has left behind a vacuum for those of us who enjoyed its intrigue and aesthetics. Had it not been so unceremiously done away with, its involvement in future world affairs could have been something I'd have looked forward to. Especially if the royal family was not ridiculously tied to the Ascians and had their agency taken away from them. In any case, Ishikawa has killed off or written out any surviving members as opposed to FFXII having at least a level-headed Larsa figure survive.

Imagine if FFXIV lived up to the claims it respected FFXII so greatly, how much better its handling of that entire situation could have been.

As to the remaining nations in the world there is also the issue of how far the poison of Sharlayn democracy has spread and infected nations like Ishgard and Ala Mhigo - and now Garlemald as well with its reversion back to having a faceless senate that doesn't interest those of us who liked the empire as an empire in the slightest. The number of traditional kingdoms on the Source is far smaller, down one further thanks to Ahewann's heroic antics leaving Thavnair with a sad dragon as its leader. All that is left now is Doma, now isolated and irrelevant to the story, and Dalmasca which once again was handled poorly in terms of how its storyline wrapped up and has seemingly no plans to ever be revisited.

Corvos with its soldiers and their "unyielding blade" techniques could very well do for a kingdom of mystic knights. Any number of former imperial territories that were once kingdoms or duchies could also fulfil a similar role. It could even accomplish the sort of Taj Mahal like fantasy with its architecture that was teased for Thavnair back in Stormblood only for Radz-at-Han to look as tacky as it does in Endwalker. I believe that a middle eastern like city for either the main city or the endgame hub combined with a more European inspired one for the other would be an excellent combination for 7.0's fresh start.

Assuming we are spared more commentary of "monarchy bad!" and having the scions bulldoze their way to setup more republics in their place of course.

[Hyperia]

All I know is that I no longer care to go to locations that are little more than lazy caricatures of cultures like Thavnair. I don't want to suffer through a Meracydian expansion with kangaroo beastmen who live on a giant rock copypasted from actual Australia. They need to get creative and stick with high fantasy instead of ticking off representing cultures XYZ off a checklist.

Just wait until they get to North America!

[SannaR]

Oh joy the very hyperbolic generalization that every country got turned into a democracy has made its way into the chat... waves a flag in fake excitement

[TheMightyMollusk]

Just wait until they get to North America!

The US is already a caricature of a functioning nation as it is.

[aveyond-dreams]

Just wait until they get to North America!

I honestly dread what would become of a New World expansion given how previous regions like Ala Mhigo's messaging and Thavnair's beastmen were handled. I do not wish to see Latin American culture turned into comic relief the way the Arkasadora were. To say nothing of the chance that in keeping with the style of Endwalker's writing that the last thing we need is a scene in which the scions go to Taco Bell, where they are waited upon by talking cactuses or piñatas.

No doubt that some of the current playerbase of the venue frequenting kind would have little to no issue with this but as someone who would much rather not endure such spectacle, it is best to simply not walk down this path again. In any case, I feel like a repetition of Mayan/Aztec aesthetics comes too soon after Rak'tika - leaving them with little else to draw from in terms of New World material except colonial era or conquistador aesthetics, which I imagine would bring controversy of their own.

Apparently Perfect World is also releasing a new korean version of itself as "Perfect New World" which combined with Amazon's own New World mmorpg makes far too many for my liking.

[Renalt]

The US is already a caricature of a functioning nation as it is.

That's when the fat sliders will be featured.