Do we really need the Scions again?

[Rithy255]

Yes, they will probably never truly kill off the major Scions at this point, but I'm fine with them just carrying on as the main cast through every expansion while the more interesting plot things either happen to other people or build the Scions up as more complex people. They don't have to die to achieve that.

I feel like they're not really interesting at this point theirs no real room to have "development" like what else can you do with the characters at this point? Despite some small parts in ew, it was clear that the characters have grown but don't show a lot of room to grow as the main cast.

I rather they stay semi important characters that pop up a few times in the story instead of the main people we follow for the 3rd time? 4th time for the twins. It's just got to the point where fresh new faces new stakes, knowing that what you're doing comes with risks, HW was good for the reason you felt like people didn't just have plot armor it kind of ruins the characters if they all have plot Armor and theirs no stakes or fear of loss.

[Iscah]

I feel like they're not really interesting at this point theirs no real room to have "development" like what else can you do with the characters at this point? Despite some small parts in ew, it was clear that the characters have grown but don't show a lot of room to grow as the main cast.

You can just enjoy their company?

Seriously, that's what it feels like, as someone who likes the characters. (My default setting is "I will like them until they do something that makes me actively dislike them".)

They're old friends at this point. They can just be there and do stuff and be friendly to our character, and I enjoy their banter.

...Within the story of course. I'm not deluded into thinking of them as real friends.

[Kazhar]

You can just enjoy their company?

Seriously, that's what it feels like, as someone who likes the characters. (My default setting is "I will like them until they do something that makes me actively dislike them".)

They're old friends at this point. They can just be there and do stuff and be friendly to our character, and I enjoy their banter.

...Within the story of course. I'm not deluded into thinking of them as real friends.

It would be fine if they were mostly in the background doing their own thing and be occasionally relevant from time to time.
But they take a very large amount of focus because of they're the default characters to talk in place of the WoL.
It leaves too little place for new stories focused on different kind of characters. There are some distractions but in the end all Scions stories are always about how an homogenuous group of scholars are going to interfere in local politics. Or save the world.

Heavensward straight up could not have happened if the entire Scion group was there. The focus on Alphinaud, Estinien and Ysayle is essential to that story.

[Fenral]

You can just enjoy their company?

Seriously, that's what it feels like, as someone who likes the characters. (My default setting is "I will like them until they do something that makes me actively dislike them".)

They're old friends at this point. They can just be there and do stuff and be friendly to our character, and I enjoy their banter.

I mean, they're basically our answer to the Straw Hat Pirates at this point. Questioning why Usopp is still around after the Going Merry sank is kind of missing the point.

[Ivtrix]

I mean, they're basically our answer to the Straw Hat Pirates at this point. Questioning why Usopp is still around after the Going Merry sank is kind of missing the point.

Usopp already got a taste of what happens if he leaves anyways (he ass got beat )

He’s all in on the sunken cost

Plus elbaf is on the horizon sooner or later

[Kazhar]

I mean, they're basically our answer to the Straw Hat Pirates at this point. Questioning why Usopp is still around after the Going Merry sank is kind of missing the point.

If the Straw Hat Pirates all shared the same background and general motivations. The comparison with One Piece only highlights how poor of a main cast the Scions are.

And even then, despite the much more diverse main cast, Oda constantly splits them in smaller groups (sometimes for years IRL) to focus the story on other characters and had a long saga where none of them except the main character were present.

And when it started getting a bit stale he had a two years timeskip to reboot their dynamics and make them feel a bit more fresh. Another thing I wish FFXIV did (especially since they're openly inspired by anime so the One Piece comparison certainly didn't escape them)

[Fenral]

If the Straw Hat Pirates all shared the same background and general motivations. The comparison with One Piece only highlights how poor of a main cast the Scions are.

You mean, besides being almost entirely from East Blue? And it's not like the Scions don't get split into smaller groups during any given expansion, or leave us on our own for stretches to hang with new characters. It's a better comparison than you think, the only difference is we're not getting it in 19-page weekly installments over the course of 25+ years, but in big chunks of one arc at a time.

And when it started getting a bit stale he had a two years timeskip to reboot their dynamics and make them feel a bit more fresh. Another thing I wish FFXIV did (especially since they're openly inspired by anime so the One Piece comparison certainly didn't escape them)

Time moved a bit differently for us than for them, but Shadowbringers already served a similar purpose to One Piece's timeskip, splitting everyone up and having them join, one at a time, with significant changes to kit and overall outlook on life thanks to the years they had spent on the First (which varied by character). The Thancred we have now is very different from the one we had in Heavensward and Stormblood.

[Kazhar]

You mean, besides being almost entirely from East Blue?

Wow they come from the same quarter of the globe, same background.
Even before the story moved to the Grand Line, nobody could argue Luffy, Nami, Zoro, Sanji and Usopp weren't vastly different characters with vastly different dreams, chara designs and backgrounds. While they're a close crew and have strong chemistry with each other, they have completely different opinions on all subjects (which is often the basis of the jokes and their slice of life moments) and realistic conflicts many times. You could write a conversation between all members of the crew while hiding their names and it would be still clear who said what. Try to do the same exercice with the Scions.
Not only that but none of the Scions had a character arc nearly as strong as what Nami or Robin got, yet in XIV it feels like we're already going in circles.

[Theodric]

At the end of the day it isn't the Scions that a lot of players invested in when they developed interest in the setting. It's why the insistence that the story doesn't need a Scion to die or retire rings so hollow to me. The game world is so much more than the increasingly stale Scions.

It's an MMO at the end of the day. Players from many different backgrounds, belief systems, cultures and personality types invest in the game. It's well past time that the core cast reflected that. It seems that whenever the story actually does entertain different points of view, fans of the Scions immediately push for a return to the status quo.

I think it's time for the game to be bolder and offer more variety in terms of what characters are bringing to the table.

[TheNight]

You can just enjoy their company?

Seriously, that's what it feels like, as someone who likes the characters. (My default setting is "I will like them until they do something that makes me actively dislike them".)

They're old friends at this point. They can just be there and do stuff and be friendly to our character, and I enjoy their banter.

...Within the story of course. I'm not deluded into thinking of them as real friends.

How can anyone enjoy their company when their default tendency is to lecture you and explain things you know for the hundredth time, while fanboying over you and telling you how much you rock like a clingy ex.