Can 7.0 focus on a storyline without the philosophizing

[Vyrerus]

Killing Y’shtola after she’s already “died” half a dozen times is meaningless at this point.

It doesn't have to be. Meaning in character death is entirely dictated by the writers, and the context they give it within the story. Even if she died with 0 impact on the immediate plot, that could be written to have meaning (perhaps something like, "Repetitive strain does indeed add up. It turns out all those fake outs did take their toll, and this is the due date.").

The reason Games of Thrones had so many deaths is because that's the story George R.R. Martin wanted to tell. He wanted a story where the world was grim, brutal, and sometimes unfair with regards to people's lives. It became an addressed selling point, because of how uncommon a story like that is/was in today's world.

FFXVI has proven that at least CBU3 and its directors/writers are up to the task of impactful character death that goes on to ripple out into the rest of the cast. We don't necessarily need it in XIV, but you tell me how is it any less boring if almost everyone is predictably fine every time something "world ending" occurs? Can't even end one cat girl, and you expect me to believe that "World Ending" Threat #AA254694201337 is really going to feel like it has stakes, is interesting, and delivers on the themes of the story well?

Especially when those themes are supposed to be grim, inimical to life, and supposedly proven to crush entire worlds before?

I mean, there's a reason the comic books industry is basically on life support.

[Kozh]

FFXVI has proven that at least CBU3 and its directors/writers are up to the task of impactful character death that goes on to ripple out into the rest of the cast. We don't necessarily need it in XIV, but you tell me how is it any less boring if almost everyone is predictably fine every time something "world ending" occurs? Can't even end one cat girl, and you expect me to believe that "World Ending" Threat #AA254694201337 is really going to feel like it has stakes, is interesting, and delivers on the themes of the story well?

Especially when those themes are supposed to be grim, inimical to life, and supposedly proven to crush entire worlds before?

It is wild to me that the literal Final Days felt more like a mere nuisance compared to the First's flood of light. Most likely because it only hit two regions of thr Source, before we were handed the answer and solutions on silver platter. This FD is probably comparable to only 5% of the first FD

[OM3GA-Z3RO]

I think the only thing I really dislike is that the power of friendship is starting to overstay it's welcomed. Especially with how big the friendship pool is expanding, and the amount of networking it contains within. The hero(s) can basically reach out to literally anyone anywhere because of that network strength. Irl, politicians don't even get along with each other like this. I'm also tired of the scions being a massive group of know-it-all bookworms that can single handily solve every wonder of the universe by themselves.

The Scions have really become walking examples of DMNPC's with +20 Knowledge of everything and if the players are stumped in what to do then the DMNPC just drops all the answers.

I personally quit WoW because all the heroes are literal DMNPC's that always swoop in and steal your kill on almost every final boss of the expansion.

Sure, here we actually kill the big bad ourselves but there is the issue that the DM is literally holding your hand and leading you to where you need to go to progress in the story with DMNPC's that gives you the answer to everything and has connections to very powerful people that is always willing to drop everything and help you.

[Fiel_Tana]

Apparently EW resonated a lot with people suffering from depression who had not benefitted from any other sort of therapies, so it was a good thing for that reason alone.

While I have heard that some people benefited from EW, and for them I am truly glad it helped! For others with depression EW made it far, FAR worse.

Like many people I was going though a very hard time at that point. My depression was lifting a bit but EWs themes were dangerous to me and caused me to spiral further down that I've ever been.

Why?

Being told that those without a strong support system and/or not sufficiently mentally strong were monsters doomed to harm others (sundered turning to blasphemies if not able to 'think positive enough'). Or in the case of the ancients, being biologically different than what was 'required' and therefore deserving of being destroyed for the betterment of others (thanks Venat!)... not a great message.

Add to it the depressing messages looped for hours throughout Ultima Thule broken only by trite speeches from the scions... yeah, it was FAR from the uplifting experience it perhaps was for others.

For me EW's message of 'hope' not only fell flat but was flat out dangerous when viewed from the deepest hole of depression. I'm also not the only one who felt that way about it.

[IkaraGreydancer]

I think the only thing I really dislike is that the power of friendship is starting to overstay it's welcomed. Especially with how big the friendship pool is expanding, and the amount of networking it contains within. The hero(s) can basically reach out to literally anyone anywhere because of that network strength. Irl, politicians don't even get along with each other like this. I'm also tired of the scions being a massive group of know-it-all bookworms that can single handily solve every wonder of the universe by themselves.

PoF is a FF mainstay. Ive gotten use to that. And it took how long for the Scions to build those connections? It's taken them leagues of work to get to the point where their reach is so expansive so imo its fair n justified. Irl politicians don't get along like this, yeah I don't think irl politicians have to worry about an end of days or full blown wars using Eikons n such either.

Yes many of the Scions are smart people. None of them are dumb ofc but I wouldn't call the WoL, Alisaie, Estinien or Thancred book worms. It's also just plain wrong to say they "single handed solve every wonder of the universe by themselves". When I see a statement like that it just comes off as hate to me. The biggest info dump about the universe as we know came from Elidibus sending us to Elpis and us spending loads of time there learning from the Ancients. That alone disproves your "single handed" comment. It took them a very long amount of time to solve tempering, in fact most of the story, ALSO with help from many many others. They still have not figured out a way to travel to the First yet and are slowly piecing together a possible solution again...with the help of others...
I could go on and on.

[BaconBits]

The White Knight allegations aren't getting beaten in this thread fellas.

[Elissar]

7.0 will be New World + Corvus or Meracydia

Won't have that much space for philosophy because we (theoretically) don't know much about such lands. They will bring back the feeling of exploration from 2.0, 4.0, 5.0 and 6.1.

[Theodric]

While I have heard that some people benefited from EW, and for them I am truly glad it helped! For others with depression EW made it far, FAR worse.

Like many people I was going though a very hard time at that point. My depression was lifting a bit but EWs themes were dangerous to me and caused me to spiral further down that I've ever been.

Why?

Being told that those without a strong support system and/or not sufficiently mentally strong were monsters doomed to harm others (sundered turning to blasphemies if not able to 'think positive enough'). Or in the case of the ancients, being biologically different than what was 'required' and therefore deserving of being destroyed for the betterment of others (thanks Venat!)... not a great message.

Add to it the depressing messages looped for hours throughout Ultima Thule broken only by trite speeches from the scions... yeah, it was FAR from the uplifting experience it perhaps was for others.

For me EW's message of 'hope' not only fell flat but was flat out dangerous when viewed from the deepest hole of depression. I'm also not the only one who felt that way about it.

Yeah, I can certainly see how that'd rub people the wrong way. I felt the same about the game's laughable declaration that the 'power of friendship' only matters if you have the 'right' friends. The Ancients have repeatedly been shown in Amaurot, Elpis and Pandaemonium to have their own loved ones that they were fighting to protect only to be sabotaged by Venat.

We also know it's a safe bet that if Venat's ire was aimed at the Scions and the Sundered then they would not simply roll over and allow their own civilisations and loved ones to be destroyed. As such, there's no reason for any other civilisation to 'have to' be destroyed either. How strange, then, that the game decided to try and justify an act of genocide so long as it's aimed at the 'right' people and after so much screeching and preaching from the Scions regarding how such acts were never acceptable for any reason and are something to oppose down to the last man standing.

[IkaraGreydancer]

Yeah, I can certainly see how that'd rub people the wrong way. I felt the same about the game's laughable declaration that the 'power of friendship' only matters if you have the 'right' friends. The Ancients have repeatedly been shown in Amaurot, Elpis and Pandaemonium to have their own loved ones that they were fighting to protect only to be sabotaged by Venat.

We also know it's a safe bet that if Venat's ire was aimed at the Scions and the Sundered then they would not simply roll over and allow their own civilisations and loved ones to be destroyed. As such, there's no reason for any other civilisation to 'have to' be destroyed either. How strange, then, that the game decided to try and justify an act of genocide so long as it's aimed at the 'right' people and after so much screeching and preaching from the Scions regarding how such acts were never acceptable for any reason and are something to oppose down to the last man standing.

Since when did the game say it only mattered when you have the "right friends"? And how exactly did Venat sabotage their fight when it was a losing battle?

Venat didn't do what she did out of ire. If that's what you got out of that you weren't paying attention. The game didn't try to justify anything, it gave her reasons, same for Hermes, same for Emet yet it's Venat thats the bad guy here. Neither of those listed are good or evil imo. Just people doing what they feel is right.
Obviously the Scions don't generally condone acts such as this BUT it is the very reason they exist and them accepting that and her reasoning make sense. In the end they didn't hesitate to put her down when it was time. Same for Emet. None of the Scions hate the guy (Hermes or any Ascian really) for what he did/tried especially now. They had no control over what came before but they can act on the here n now hence why they stopped Emet. Its not black n white. I get you don't like Venat (I'm not a super fan of hers either) but come on..

[GTK0HLK]

It\\'s taken them leagues of work to get to the point where their reach is so expansive so imo its fair n justified.
Yes many of the Scions are smart people. The biggest info dump about the universe as we know came from Elidibus sending us to Elpis and us spending loads of time there learning from the Ancients.

Alot of others forget that many of the things are a consequence of what happened before.
[This in the form of consequence as in cause and effect, not as negatives or positives that others feel is IMPERATIVE for a good story.]

What was it called again.., The Circle of Knowing. that was the half the original Scions?
[will brush up on that later.]
Whos head recruited Thancred.

Many things be they story, engine, Even the age rating affects what and how well the story can be expressed and told.

Yet many forget that the past forges the present, that allows the future to be foretold.
Let alone the time loop, that acts like a Chessboard of variables that by emets displeasure [and unwanting to credit venat for predicting/hoping his summoning/half-life emergence in Ultima Thule.] acts like a unavoidable outcome that is meant to occur, and cannot be avoided no matter what you do. [Until of course, the last thing you need to do, is complete the final tasks. which only really depended on sticking til the end. Which if it was anyone else, may have thrown themselves over the edge. Potentially for fun of it.]

The Scions had much in their story hone them for what they needed for their individual experience.

Which if it wasnt for them pushing each other forward, they likely would of fallen on the ragnarok. (While in hindsight, if Thancred did perish on the 1st, who else would of dealt with the first meteia?) [Plot armor, only some residue if I cared to be generous.]

In the end, they all did what they must, and all the answers are clearly spelled out by the story. (Even venats reasoning, and reasons why she kept it quiet. Too desperate to be black and white others are. If asked, Im a grateful Gray for the outcome. semi-jk Not a Venat Mother fan as others see her.)

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TLDR: This threads OP, and maybe a few users need to understand that a few of the things they have understandable dislikes for are fine.

But the way theyre going about it(not only in this thread) gets others looking at their original cause of why, and not their desire.

Why look at something if it has incomplete or interpreted differently from what is clearly stated.(Not talking about the open to personal interpretation segments. But the general ideas.)

None here would disagree for a story break that is more grounded.(just like I agree with the whole edge and softness I pointed out about another "infamous" user, who liked to vehemently post about.

The only reason OPs topics grow is cause of the minor Fragments that dodgy. (and their reactions to others pointing it out. In their own custom ways.)

[It can honestly go the way the OP wants, but not if they got a few things wrong and that influences the outcome. and none would complain much if its acceptable story. Cause we all want at least that much.]