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

[Vyrerus]

Finished 24 man.

Went about like I expected.

Llymlaen is HAWT. She was the best part.

Narratively it was a dumpster fire. Everything in it got predicted pretty much to a T, so I'm mildly surprised they didn't "subvert" our expectations, but as has been pointed out, they lied in the interview about Hydaelyn and the souls making her up being completely consumed, so maybe they still feel like they wrote a compelling twist or some shit.

Did not appreciate them having a way to remember the precise lives of her followers, when that was something whole Unsundered folks struggled with.

But more than that, I find the twelve to be morally abhorrent. This whole 24 man they talked about the delight of our faith and unity and their hopes for mankind. And the cast we got, my least favorites of the Scions btw, were hella on board with gods to the point of being like, "UwU, PLZ DON'T GO!!! Mankind finds comfort in each of you uwu"


So when they're revealed to be animated sculptures of Venat's co-conspirators... a literal divisive faction that sought to break their kind's own god... It all just rings hollow. With the icing on the cake being, "We're so glad the world is in your hands now, for you to do with as you please!"

And we still don't have an answer for what Azem was doing while these factions warred over the fate of the star and created another god. But damn does this story basically reek of them basically gloating, "We won." As they use the sundered version of the guy who wouldn't join them in the original world to get their way.

Oh and just one more shit in your face bonus:

There's a shit ton of talk about nature and loving the natural world unspoiled by man etc. etc. And how the world needs to go back to its natural state and man can do without gods now etc.

But they literally return to the star to forever impart their stabilizing force on the way it is now, which according to our narrative, is a highly unnatural state cause by (wo)man.

I actually considered unsubscribing today, and that's something I've never actually felt like doing. But I actually hovered my mouse over the option today.

Like, I want to like this game. I loved this game for quite a long while. But its gameplay quality has been slipping since Stormblood. Its narrative quality has fluctuated, but the pay off has usually always been worth it.

But now? It gives us less, way less than ever before, and has given itself the complete liberty to discard everything that would give its story any impact.

Ascians? Gone.
Garlemald? Bastardized.
Stakes for our heroes and setting? 6 feet under.
Voidsent? Just people who gotta get their world right (by reverting it to how it was before :^)).
Zenos? Maybe dead, but where's the minion?

This should mean new villains, which should be exciting. But we're still walking shoulder to shoulder as the most powerful person in the entire universe standing shoulder to shoulder with the most powerful people (still alive) from Etheirys. Are they just gonna like, steal a page out of FFXI's book again, and have our summertime pirate splash jam interrupted by interdimensional beings more powerful than us or some shit? I mean, that's technically what Odin and Alexander amount to in Treasures of Aht Urhgan. But if that's all there is, I might as well crawl back into XI and forget XIV entirely.