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

[Theodric]

It's one of the most frustrating elements of the game as a former lore enthusiast. When I was more deeply invested in the setting I would take the time to do every side quest and even pay attention to the little scraps of lore that you would see in FATE's and item descriptions. It was my belief that it would all ultimately tie together as something consistent.

I think a lot of the side content was actually pretty great and it's a shame so little of it ended up being acknowledged in the MSQ's even when and where it would make sense. One of the most jarring aspects to me was the fate that befell Regula van Hydrus. It's a pretty big deal for a high ranking soldier to put aside differences with the protagonists and sacrifice himself in order to protect one of them. Especially when his dying words directly referenced his best friend, the Emperor of Garlemald himself. Though by the time a confrontation with Varis zos Galvus came about there was no option to bring up Regula even in passing.

I never expected the story to be particularly deep, granted, though the only reason I bothered to invest in it in the first place was due to the high praise Yoshi-P was giving the Ivalice games. I assumed, then, that a similar level of maturity and tact was to be in store for us rather than just surface level references.

Perhaps it was originally the intention before the game was hijacked by the venue and modbeast crowd. The game is certainly catering to them more and more blatantly these days, both in terms of emotes, housing furniture and a lack of meaningful stakes for characters who seem to exist as little more than body pillows who gush over how amazing the player character supposedly is. Alongside the development team doing stuff like making sure that food is animated to look as realistic as possible and beats of sweat drip down Estinien's shirtless form even as it desperately tried to avoid showing the confrontation between Hydaelyn and Zodiark in its raw, unfiltered form.

It is what it is, I suppose. I don't expect much more from this game in the future other than increasingly tone deaf writing, overly preachy and hypocritical protagonists and bizarre Hildibrand style emotes. I get my fix from other games these days and intend to let my subscription lapse again very soon.

A lot of my disgust for the game in its current form stems from matters unrelated to the story, at any rate. The horrific treatment of Susan Calloway being a prime example. I predict that the community will continue to tear itself apart between now and Dawntrail since that's almost a year without any fresh content other than a minor crossover event scheduled for April.

[Solakor]

Why make the effort to have well made food when ppl will eat shit and even praise it? Everything means nothing in the face of profit and if the momentum is at one side then the other does not exist. Literally telling ppl what to think or get punished. It's a facade and theatrics and will blow any way the ideologies are at the time.
I dunno how i would feel as a dev having been there from the start when you see everything unmade in front of your eyes or better yet get to undo it yourself.

[Eisi]

It's one of the most frustrating elements of the game as a former lore enthusiast. When I was more deeply invested in the setting I would take the time to do every side quest and even pay attention to the little scraps of lore that you would see in FATE's and item descriptions. It was my belief that it would all ultimately tie together as something consistent.

What I recommend you do if you want to enjoy the game as it is is that you look for the scraps of inspirational greatness that is often hidden in the most unassuming of places within the game. If you want a cohesive whole, forget it, there's too many writers on board with contradictory sentiments who can't be as raw and personal as they would be with private projects. I remember another poster talk about how there might have been issues with one writer deciding to kill of characters that another one previously introduced with perhaps originally other plans for them which might have led to a sense of animosity within staff. Unfortunately such issues can only be addressed via raw communication that often will lay bare the very foundations of one's passions as a writer, foundations that may radically contradict each other's and that are only with great difficulty woven together into a cohesive mural. Especially when you write for a brand with a priori restrictions and have to deal with executive meddling on top of that.

Perhaps it was originally the intention before the game was hijacked by the venue and modbeast crowd. The game is certainly catering to them more and more blatantly these days, both in terms of emotes, housing furniture and a lack of meaningful stakes for characters who seem to exist as little more than body pillows who gush over how amazing the player character supposedly is.

There is an overlap between venue goers and story enjoyers, but let me assure you that your image of them is out of touch. These are often people who are invested in or even personally write stories (fanfiction often, sure) that number 1) do romance at all which XIV it seems will not touch with a five yard stick even though it's one of the greatest topics to write about ever and basically part of FF's DNA, number 2) do tragedy way better than XIV itself and that number 3) really dive deep into the complex, often dark psychology of their characters. There's a lot of meme-worthy junk around for sure, but don't underestimate the taste of venue-goers. These people know that you can still gush over fictional characters even if you can't romance them in the game or if they are in a relationship with another character - just look at fan-favorite Ameliance. No, the fact that none of the characters in our immediate vicinity have anything going on is because of the writer's idiocy, not your fellow player's.

It's that it's almost impossible to have a good story given the circumstances that an MMO finds itself in, even when it allegedly focuses on telling a story. You are lucky if you strike gold once. XIV did it twice, once with the Seventh Umbral Calamity plotline, once with Shadowbringers. There are countless little examples to be found as well. Focus on those if you want to enjoy the story.

As another example, look at what happened to FFVII's lore when it got infinitely expanded across the Compilation of FFVII. It became an absolute mess.

[Vyrerus]

Personally invested in/out of touch etc.

The thing about anyone who plays FFXIV only to use it as artistic inspiration and what not, no matter how heavily they're invested in its story, is that it does not matter if they are not also equally invested in its gameplay.

The story is just one facet of any MMO, and while it does bring in the crowds, the game itself once was able to, too, without yet being able to be said to be one of the best storylines in all of Final Fantasy.

When the game itself is declining in quality, then it becomes harder to play to just enjoy the stories. When there's a lull or wait for more story, it is imperative that the game itself is still a fun game that prides itself on its gameplay. That is what keeps people around when the ink in the quill runs dry.

[ZavosEsperian]

When the game itself is declining in quality, then it becomes harder to play to just enjoy the stories. When there's a lull or wait for more story, it is imperative that the game itself is still a fun game that prides itself on its gameplay. That is what keeps people around when the ink in the quill runs dry.

I am most concerned about this especially due to the content drought the game will be going through for the next 5-7 months. The quality of the gameplay has diminished greatly and what little story crumbs provided have largely been uneventful and do not inspire confidence about what is to come in the future.

[Xeronia]

I am most concerned about this especially due to the content drought the game will be going through for the next 5-7 months. The quality of the gameplay has diminished greatly and what little story crumbs provided have largely been uneventful and do not inspire confidence about what is to come in the future.

I am in agreement here, I did that thing recommended and played other games while maintaining my house/FC house. I now have a pre-order on WoW:War Within and have established I will wait for Dawntrail to be on sale as it doesn't seem worth full price for me when the content I would be wanting is a year out at best in an exploratory zone. Thankfully I can still maintain my houses without the expansion. As for the latest story I still haven't done it as again I found another game (as recommended) and am having more fun there and I know the patch content is probably about 3 hours I can knock out whenever.