This story is really underwhelming - it's opened to mixed reviews.

[OgruMogru]

I'm getting tired of the constant telling and not showing in regards to world building. Instead of each zone being filled with the same copy paste NPC who launches into a dry speech where they just list the 3 things that their little society relies on, why not have each town's shop actually sell a consumable version of the food or drink item we can get for a few gil? Why can't we buy glam outfits themed on each location? Why isn't any all of that dry but apparently vital "world building" actually reflected in these little communities?

[koko-on-da-forumz]

It's impossible. You can't replace 10 years of hype in a few months only using decent writing.

Chill.

One thing I think a lot of people miss is that Endwalker really wasn't the end result of 10 years of story. It was a direct sequel to Shadowbringers.

Shadowbringers was almost entirely a new story arc, and it was really good. There was an interview saying they had to completely rewrite ascian lore to make it work, and that was really the only thing they took over. Stormblood was a new arc, Heavensward was a new arc. Every expansion except Endwalker had very little direct tie to what came before.

The only way in which Endwalker incorporates more than ShB is with extremely long, drawn out cutscenes that force a lot of old characters into them for one voiced line. Heck, they had to semi-retcon Hydaelyn's involvement at the end of ARR.

You're right, they really didn't need to maintain that level of hype, though. That was unsustainable and it would have been a fool's gambit (which is why it's so fricked that they DID try in the last 20% of the DT MSQ).

[Boblawblah]

just started the 2nd half of the expansion now and oof, there is some serious padding. Like, side quests being MSQ for an entire zone style. Reminds me of FFXVI actually. Not a fan of this zone's quest so far. There's even a moment where the game outright admits that they're just rehashing a questline from Shadowbringers but in a slightly different way.

EDIT: OKAY NEVERMIND, S**T JUST HIT THE FAN

[Ryaz]

It's the start of a new cycle, so I'm definitely giving it a lot more leeway. I'm enjoying just adventuring and not expecting anything world shaking. I even like Wuk Lamat and her shounen protagonist ways.

Honestly, my biggest criticism so far at around the 94-95 quest level is that the WoL really just kinda there, watching another character's story. Which is fine, I guess, but that feels more like it belongs in WoW than FFXIV where it is supposed to be your story.

[Oizen]

I'm getting tired of the constant telling and not showing in regards to world building. Instead of each zone being filled with the same copy paste NPC who launches into a dry speech where they just list the 3 things that their little society relies on, why not have each town's shop actually sell a consumable version of the food or drink item we can get for a few gil? Why can't we buy glam outfits themed on each location? Why isn't any all of that dry but apparently vital "world building" actually reflected in these little communities?

You mean like Kugane?

Stormblood once again best expansion

[Larom]

You mean like Kugane?

Stormblood once again best expansion

I will say that Stormblood base MSQ is better than DT, easily. The "easily" is what's worrying.

[ZephyrMenodora]

I will say that Stormblood base MSQ is better than DT, easily. The "easily" is what's worrying.

At least StB started with a credible threat and they had the audacity to let us lose. It wasn't until I was meandering around the Ruby Sea to different boring villages that I just uninstalled out of boredom.

Unfortunately the entire questline so far has been a Ruby Sea in DT. Just got to the 94 quests - maybe it will pick up. But it's a bit long to be bored. There some be some part of the opener that grabs people a bit harder.

[CosmoBabylonia]

You mean like Kugane?

Stormblood once again best expansion

Lyse, I am sorry that I was too hard on you.

[genuine_stranger]

First things first, having just finished the story, I like the expansion and the story in and of itself. However, like so many other JRPGs, the story is plagued by several issues. For one, it repeats the premise over and over, to the point where you ask yourself, 'Is this meant for people with a short attention span?' I get it, you want to emphasize the importance of the matter for the characters, but holy moly, slow down. We get it after the first four times.

Then we have the quite popular approach of "tell, don't show" that is prevalent in the majority of Japanese games. I'm mostly speaking about how the characters need to explain how they feel. EVERY. GODDAMN. TIME. While it's crucial to understand the characters' emotions, the constant need for exposition can be overbearing.

And lastly, the MSQ has far too much fluff that should be packed into side quests and made available for completion after the main story concludes. I get that they want to show off the writers' capabilities, but that amount of fluff brings the whole momentum that we had to a painful crawl. Streamlining the MSQ would provide a more focused and exhilarating experience.

I will refrain from commenting on the job changes, from what I could experience in the normal modes so far. The boss encounters have a nice learning curve and are definitely harder than in EW. Great job, more of this, please.

And the zones are simply put gorgeous, no more comment on this.

Personally, I like the graphic update, but I can see how your MC can look uncanny after these changes. It was stated during past live letters that everything will be updated in the coming patches, so critiquing the lack of dual dye channels on older gear is pointless, in my opinion.

Anyway, those were my two cents.

[HighlanderClone]

They can do "show don't tell" if they want. Erenville delivers that very well up (Lv98-100).

They just don't respect us as players and treat us like little kids.