Dawntrail appreciation for those who enjoy the story so far

[Valence]

I haven't read everything because frankly there is too much to read in both positive and negative threads about it, but I am currently enjoying the story so far (I'm past the trial and first two areas).

I am one of those that seem to be able to see the good points sticking out of every expansion. People hated on SB because quite frankly a lot of themes went past right over their heads, notably in the Gyr Abanian areas (Ala Ghanna especially comes to mind on oppression vs collaboration), and notably Lyse as a central character as well, that obviously would make the whole expansion unlikeable if one wouldn't like her. And yet imo, she had ten times the depth of all the scions combined with their general absence of flaws (Alphinaud in ARR and Thancred in ShB excepted), had a lot of character growth and struggles, fought against her destiny she had been groomed for and tried to stay attached to her naive overlook of the world until she had to accept it and grow. I see a lot of similarities with Wuk Lamat, and even if both characters are fortunately different, they do stick out the same way, and unfortunately again, as the main anchor of the audience in the story, if one doesn't like her, then it's likely they'll hate the story or constantly want to pull their eyes out.

This expansion strikes mostly true so far for me on the world, which is selling it to me altogether more than the plot of the throne contest itself. Character interactions are neat and there is a clear effort to invest some production value into it, but the world and even sidequests really sell this one imo. I'm eager to see more of it so far.

Note: I do agree with overused clumsy/awkward comedy. It tends to pull me out of those scenes.

[Kes13a]

I am having a good time so far.

story doesnt seem off, a bit slow at the beginning with the escort around but not irritably so. Wuk Lamat doesnt bother me at all and is so far interesting as a character.

my only issues are in another thread and I see no reason to bring them up here.

[Basteala]

DT Main was like a slow cooked piece of quality meat. It was amazing, but GOD it took forever. I think the extra cinematics are a very good thing, but I think that early story needs a couple more fighting quests to kind of provide some sense of stimulation while the early story is in setup mode.

But that's more constructive criticism going forward. Once you hit up the third zone the story escalates very nicely and I found myself very happy with the twists and turns and tear jerkers I've come to expect from FF14's story.

[Lothllara]

People hated on SB because quite frankly a lot of themes went past right over their heads

I don't want to judge how other people understand stories and what themes they enjoy or not...But I do agree with you. Generally I tend to find FFXIV stories very on point as analyses of human characters and political organisations, though they are heavily left-leaning on most topics (which might be why many people, who are maybe more conservative, find the themes don't resonate with them). And I think many players simply don't pay attention to that in video game stories; they want fast-paced, feel-good stories instead. Which is also a completely valid expectation of media.

[Basteala]

I'll second your agreement. STB I feel is criminally underrated.

[eternalmagic]

So, I wanted to share my own positive thoughts on DT and also thank OP for making this thread! It’s nice to see this thread in the sea of negative ones. I’m finished with MSQ for the base expansion, and do want to go into spoiler-type talk, but all spoilers will be in boxes and labeled with generally what they are about. Sorry in advance for being...wordy.

First and foremost, since I feel like this will help put my opinion into perspective, my ranking of expansions so far. 1: SHB will forever be king to me in a ton of ways; 2: a tie between HW and EW, actually--both are excellent, and while I have some issues with parts of them, the positives for the most part outweigh my issues; 3: another tie between STB and ARR--I think both of these are good, but have some issues that really can’t be ignored.

DT is not perfect in my eyes, but it is giving SHB a true run for its money in terms of how much I liked it. I don’t think it’s without its problems (no expansion is, even SHB no matter how much I love it), but overall there is just SO much good stuff here that I am 100% willing to forgive it.

Now, to get a bit more detailed. Spoilers will be hidden and marked for the relevant zone or point in the story. I also talk mostly vaguely about the highlights anyway.

Expansion Start

Going into this expansion I really had no idea what to expect. I admit that the 6.X patch cycle really threw me for a loop once DT was announced, and it felt kind of pointless to be doing so much with the void? Wuk Lamat actually won me over really fast, though--she has a certain kind of charm that endeared me to her pretty quickly, and I was interested to see what would happen with her going forward. I was honestly more excited about how much better my character looked in game than even the updated benchmark at first! I also was more invested in Krile than anything, she’s always been a low key fave for me so it’s nice to see her be more involved in MSQ this time.

Tulliyollal is a lovely city, and its inn was the first to make me go “wow” since the Pendants. I loved meeting Gulool Ja Ja, and his vibe as a character was excellent. I was surprised by how the rite of succession was shaping up, but once you see the Saga monuments and hear the story behind them, it pretty quickly clicks as to what the Dawnservant wants the claimants to the throne to learn about during the rite, and when I realized that and saw the mentor-type role my character would play, I was in. I was determined to embrace that role in a way I had issues doing when I played through STB initially for Lyse.

One other thing: I was super surprised by Zoraal Ja being the one Wuk Lamat was prioritizing as a threat, and that he was the one who couldn’t be allowed to be Dawnservant. I’d been anticipating something else from him, so that was a fun surprise.

Part 1 because I got...carried away writing this. Sorry.

[eternalmagic]

Zones 1 and 2, second visit, first trial

I liked this second set of feats overall! It felt like we were finally making some good progress with Krile’s goals to find out more about the city of gold in addition to moving forward with the rite. I also liked jumping right back into zones we’d already seen instead of waiting for 5+ levels.

I liked how the Moblin feat incorporated the Elezen goldsmith from the boat, and seeing once again just how charismatic and magnetic a personality Wuk Lamat is. Her ability to show so much empathy for people is absolutely her biggest strength, and her desire to understand things is really starting to shine, at least for me. Koana also was a star here, and I really adore his character archetype and the love he has for his sister. Working together to rescue Wuk Lamat after Bakool Ja Ja snatches her was a nice change of pace, and that was when my initial impression of what would happen with Koana gained a bit more strength behind it.

I LOVED seeing the Yok Huy and honestly getting to go back to Urqopacha was a delight. It felt like SO much progress was being made for both the rite & Krile’s goals, and the dungeon was excellent. No real notes, not really.

I have gripes with the Valigarmanda trial but I appreciated that Wuk Lamat, Koana, and Zoraal Ja ALL came together for the good of their nation.

Zone 3

Really liked this zone as well. As a person who loves food and specifically enjoys making food for others, this feat was a delight. Given that we find out the clan’s leader is Wuk Lamat’s father, it is VERY fitting that the people of the village are much more on the nose about still giving out on the nose clues. In addition, the cooperation between Koana and Wuk Lamat was very clearly there to show how well they work together and what it is that Koana still has to learn.

Some people in the negative threads have said that the Bakool Ja Ja turn in the second half was weird, but I don’t think it was. By the end of the duty after the first feat, he’s a mess. Seeing the added context for why the Mamool Ja are the way that they are in the second half of the zone, and learning the cost of the blessed siblings, you actually have a reason to offer empathy to him. Wuk Lamat putting aside her anger with him to help his people is yet more proof of the things that truly make her a good leader and why she is the best choice to win the rite.

The end of Koana’s arc is excellent. Wuk Lamat reaching out to him--knowing that he can succeed in an area that is not her forte--is MORE proof of her ability to see the best in others/understand their worth. And Koana is a great brother/partner to work with for her, as his calm demeanor evens out her boisterousness very well.

The end of the Skydeep Cenote and finding the city of gold is such a good way to close out the first half. We’re left on more intrigue, and this was when I got the deep sense of “When is the other shoe gonna drop”.

[eternalmagic]

Midpoint

I was so happy with Wuk Lamat’s coronation, and how she outright asked Koana to join her on the throne. Finding a way to truly being their father’s successors by embodying both reason and resolve works out so well in Tural’s favor in the end.

I think the only somewhat negative thing I can say here is that…I was totally thrown by the song that played when the stone monument was revealed, haha. The song is fine on its own, but it was SO weird for me to hear that it did actually kinda take me out of it. But otherwise this turning point for the latter half of the expansion was good. I wasn’t sure how to feel about MSQ going forward, though, because I was like “Wait, where’s the rest of it???”

Zone 4, part 1

So as someone who knows the Southwest US fairly well this zone was excellent, I loved the vibes. The overworld music is great.

I will say outright here that I’ve kind of been an Erenville hater since his introduction in EW. He’s been overhyped for a character who up to DT basically had no personality in my eyes, so I was apprehensive about how this zone would go with him as our only companion. But, credit where it’s due, the writers actually got me to come around on him a little with the background we finally get for him.

Seeing the railyard workers actually made me cry, specifically seeing Not Magnus’ wife. I’m so glad that 1: they were included and 2: explicitly shown to be the exact same as the people we know from the first. Roommate and I joked several times that this was SHB/Trolleys 2 and it was such a delight.

The end point for this visit to the zone was excellent. The dread had been building for me the whole time, knowing that something was around the corner, but no idea what. So the dome appearing and then the aftermath was anticipated but as brutal as I was expecting.

[eternalmagic]

Zone 4, part 2

The destruction of Tulliyollal and trying to aid those we could was done well, to me anyway. The devs handled that sort of thing pretty well in EW, so was glad to see it done again just as well.

Then comes the “cat”valry as I’d like to call it. Honestly, the moment I heard G’raha’s voice and heard Eternal Wind, it was like I could finally breathe. I think that’s the point of seeing him and Y’shtola showing up to give you help for the rest of the expansion--they give a sense of release to all the tension and anxiety players might feel after the attack on Tulliyollal.

The truth of what the golden door is threw me for a loop, because I was NOT expecting it. I imagine it’s what people felt when the SHB launch trailer dropped and the truth about Hydaelyn and Zodiark was given--you’re so shocked that it’s a bit much to process. But I liked the revelations about the golden city and Krile and everything.

The revisit to Shaaloani was a delight, and deciding to blow up the train was exactly the kind of crazy I’d expect from the Source version of the trolley guys from Twine. The song that played during the coronation came back and it felt just as cheesy as before, but I think I’d accepted it by this point? I am one of the people who likes Kingdom Hearts unironically, so.

And the Vanguard dungeon is SO good. I loved the music--honestly Soken popped off this expansion.

Zone 5

So I love the aesthetic of this zone in general--thank you for giving us Ff10’s Thunder Plains--but this was where if I ever felt like the story was loosing me, it was here. I wasn’t sure what to make of the time bubble nor the regulators, so it took some time for Heritage Found to find its footing for me. Sphene also was slightly unsettling, in a way? It was hard to put my finger on whether she was sympathetic or playing you, which I guess is the point.

Solution Nine kind of just added to my sense of confusion. I was a bit lost on it all, and trying to wrap my head around it. With all the talk of souls, though, I finally understood why all the Void stuff with Zero in the 6.X patches was actually good to spend so much time with, since it was basically a primer for ALL of this stuff in the latter half of DT.

What finally got me back on loving the plot again was seeing Gulool Ja and Otis in the other half of the map, where the ruined Alexandria is. I haven’t even played FF9 myself, only watched a very abridged playthrough, but the way I instantly knew who Otis was a stand in for made me feel so warm and comforted. Steiner is just so goofy and Otis is exactly like him.

[eternalmagic]

More Zone 5/2nd Trial

Was not surprised by Zoraal Ja making his move, but the cutscene for the defense of Tulliyollal was very good. I was surprised by Sphene both in and out of Solution Nine for that instanced duty, and I think here is where I really started to see the parallels between what I know of FF9 and DT. Sphene is Wuk Lamat’s mirror, at least in a way--loving and compassionate and charismatic (because I’d come to like her quite a bit by the point she outright says she was playing you).

The fight against Zoraal Ja is a great one. I am not the person to ask to talk about fight design or anything so will leave that to others. But I thought it was good.

Also liked the revelations after the trial, where Sphene turns on you for real. It did feel like downing Vauthry just to have Emet steal the Exarch again, though maybe not in the same way. Similar dramatic stakes, I guess I’m trying to say.

Zone 6/Finale

This zone will always have an interesting flavor to it to me, since I use the Living Memory title for personal WOL lore reasons. But the zone is, I think, such an excellent one.

Every time you turn off a terminal, you get that message of how nothing will go back to what it was. And the part of Living Memory that you shut down is then forever less colorful, and there’s not music. You’re left with silence. I took my time and did all aether currents and quests as I could/they became available, so I was doing all this in silence. Left alone with my thoughts on it all and trying to understand what the point was.

One thing I know about FF9 is how, despite its cheerful colors and friendly looking character design, it’s a darker story. It deals with death and the existential. The perfect word to sum up FF9, from what I know, is bittersweet. And I think this zone PERFECTLY handles that feeling. The weather is Reminiscence, bathing everything in this golden color. It’s full of zones that might be familiar (I don’t fully know since I don’t know 9 that well, but I recognized Alexandria and the Iifa Tree). The music is this soft, comforting piece that just triggered my nostalgia for a game I haven’t even played. Seeing Otis in his prime again, the tour of the Gardens with Cachuia, letting Krile meet her parents and learn her real name--it’s all so bittersweet.

Sphene is clinging so much to that nostalgia for a time gone by because of her programming, and it’s sad to have to end it. But to me, she is eerily similar to Emet-Selch: she was clinging to the memory of the dead, desperate to bring them back and keep them alive. But in the end, it was only an imitation that would lead to untold amounts of suffering to others.

I did cry in this zone, but it was during G’raha’s talk with the player in the gondola, and all the interactions Krile had with her parents.

I loved the Alexandria dungeon, and the trial was excellent. I will say that the intermission was a bit long for my liking, but I still liked it tremendously.