Wow, Wuk Lamat is really single-handedly ruining the DT story...

[arstoka]

Even when the plot decides we can move on, it still centres around her and it's infuriating.

Spoilers below for Level 95 Quest(s):

The first subplot of Shoalaani has you chasing down a crook who stole Namikka (Wuk Lammat's NURSE MAID) bracelet. A woman who we have interacted with once, maybe twice, and was boasting out loud to EVERYONE about the fabulous gift she got from Wuk Lamat.

AND we get saddled with an oranged haired peace-lover who we rescue from being kidnapped only to follow his asinine plot to get the town Sheriff arrested which works. The writers get to do a nice little, epic moment cutscene for a non-character while we just stand around and clap. I'd care more if it was fleshed out better.

On top of that but this plot point was already visited with Koana doing the EXACT SAME THING but in order to draw out the bandits. This isn't foreshadowing, this is poor, unfiltered and uncritical writing.

[CosmoBabylonia]

No, treating her like she is the worst thing since sliced hitler is whats worrying.
Got a little further, she seems like "lyse done better" to me. Thats not saying much , lyse was terrible. But no. its not reasonable, or charitable to tell every person who says they like wuk gets some sexual kick out of it. Its "Cringe" and really weird to say it is.

She currently has X-Pac level of heat right now. Some heat on a character is good, it generates talk and gives good options on how to take the character in the future.

X-Pac heat means you are terrible, we do not ever want to see you since you waste our time whenever you are on screen. The fact that they turned their flagship character for DT to that is just plain bad writing. Not to mention that she is even generating this large amount of heat should be really concerning.

[Sonoskay]

I don't think being vocal about how disappointed we are after ShB and EW is "worrying". FF14 always excelled in its story. This time, it fell flat. Some people may still like it, but some people like all sorts of weird stuff so that's not really a valid argument. Reviews on Steam are quite bad exactly because of this character, as well as the script and MSQ pace as a whole.

Also, I still don't think the person you quoted was being mean. They were just being honest. Realistically, there are only three situations under which someone may like Wuk Lemat:

1) They know nothing about good writing;
2) They are delusional;
3) Furries.

Oh, excuse me, I had no idea we had the arbiter of "good writing" here in the forums.

Looking over the reviews, some complaints aren't even about wuk, they are about thje graphical update, but even the negative reveiws dont treat her as poorly as yall are. You are allowed to not like a character, She is the centerpiece of the expac and thats fine if it doesnt click. What really bothers me, is exactly what you are doing right now. ANyone who likes wuk is either stupid or horny. That feels like a WILD take to me. Its not nice. its not diplomatic. its eliteist garbage.
"its actually better if they are lying about it, because duplicity is better than being stupid." All of this, from top to bottom, is utter nonsense.

[Loggos]

Even when the plot decides we can move on, it still centres around her and it's infuriating.

Spoilers below for Level 95 Quest(s):

The first subplot of Shoalaani has you chasing down a crook who stole Namikka (Wuk Lammat's NURSE MAID) bracelet. A woman who we have interacted with once, maybe twice, and was boasting out loud to EVERYONE about the fabulous gift she got from Wuk Lamat.

AND we get saddled with an oranged haired peace-lover who we rescue from being kidnapped only to follow his asinine plot to get the town Sheriff arrested which works. The writers get to do a nice little, epic moment cutscene for a non-character while we just stand around and clap. I'd care more if it was fleshed out better.

On top of that but this plot point was already visited with Koana doing the EXACT SAME THING but in order to draw out the bandits. This isn't foreshadowing, this is poor, unfiltered and uncritical writing.

The plot was super silly filler but I actually appreciated that we got to see

Erenville being an actual, active character instead of just a cynical background prop. He is so much fun and his personality, as it turns out, is actually interesting. Plus he is smart, strategic and self-sufficient, which was a big contrast to the continuous clumsy "we need to make sure she doesn't fall into a cenote" babysitting shtick Wuk Lamat was afflicted with.
(And that cutscene when he kicked over that barrel with the stolen goods was kinda badass.)

And more importantly, we were actively involved. We actually cooperated with our companion NPC and solved the problem together instead of just being a retainer.
I felt so much more engaged during that episode and had actual adventurer feelings, whereas I had nothing of that sort from level 90 to 96.

Giving another character room to develop and unfold really made that padding plot a lot more enjoyable to me than anything that had come before, even though it was completely pointless. If they had shifted the focus to other characters more frequently I'm sure it would have helped the story a lot.

[Tethan]

snip

Couldn't have put it better.

Another thing that pissed me off was

(spoiler 3rd zone)

When Bakool Ja Ja instantly turned around into a fast ally (whose trust Wuk Lamat has earned, somehow). The reveal of how he was groomed and pressured into the role was actually the first time the MSQ made me feel anything at all, it was genuinely pretty sad and messed up to learn. And yet my WoL has nothing but harsh words for him. Meanwhile, Wuk Lamat, saint that she is, acts forgiving. Because of course she does, only she can be kind and good.

Never before has the WoL felt so railroaded. I'm starting to dislike my own character.

[Remilia_Nightfall]

Oh, excuse me, I had no idea we had the arbiter of "good writing" here in the forums.

Looking over the reviews, some complaints aren't even about wuk, they are about thje graphical update, but even the negative reveiws dont treat her as poorly as yall are. You are allowed to not like a character, She is the centerpiece of the expac and thats fine if it doesnt click. What really bothers me, is exactly what you are doing right now. ANyone who likes wuk is either stupid or horny. That feels like a WILD take to me. Its not nice. its not diplomatic. its eliteist garbage. and its actually better if they are lying about it, because duplicity is better than being stupid. All of this, from top to bottom, is utter nonsense.

There is really no need to be an "arbiter of good writing".
You don't need to be J.R.R. Tolkien to realise that DT's writing is amateurish at best. Anyone who is 16+ and decently literate can spot the inconsistencies and the banalities of it.

[arstoka]

The plot was super silly filler but I actually appreciated that we got to see

Erenville being an actual, active character instead of just a cynical background prop. He is so much fun and his personality, as it turns out, is actually interesting. Plus he is smart, strategic and self-sufficient, which was a big contrast to the continuous clumsy "we need to make sure she doesn't fall into a cenote" babysitting shtick Wuk Lamat was afflicted with.
(And that cutscene when he kicked over that barrel with the stolen goods was kinda badass.)

And more importantly, we were actively involved. We actually cooperated with our companion NPC and solved the problem together instead of just being a retainer.
I felt so much more engaged during that episode and had actual adventurer feelings, whereas I had nothing of that sort from level 90 to 96.

Giving another character room to develop and unfold really made that padding plot a lot more enjoyable to me than anything that had come before, even though it was completely pointless. If they had shifted the focus to other characters more frequently I'm sure it would have helped the story a lot.

I 100% agree with you. I felt like I could breathe again when we got to spend some time with them. A genuinely enjoyable experience for however short lived it was. I still have my gripes about the other NPCs involved but, regardless, I wish there was more one-on-one adventuring with them.

[Loggos]

Another thing that pissed me off was

(spoiler 3rd zone)

When Bakool Ja Ja instantly turned around into a fast ally (whose trust Wuk Lamat has earned, somehow). The reveal of how he was groomed and pressured into the role was actually the first time the MSQ made me feel anything at all, it was genuinely pretty sad and messed up to learn. And yet my WoL has nothing but harsh words for him. Meanwhile, Wuk Lamat, saint that she is, acts forgiving. Because of course she does, only she can be kind and good.

Never before has the WoL felt so railroaded. I'm starting to dislike my own character.

So much this, haha!

I couldn't believe that I actually felt more empathy and sympathy for

Bakool Ja Ja and his struggles, who I had despised before because he was so cartoonish, than I had ever felt for Wuk up to this point. I'm glad they did give him an actual backstory but if 20 minutes of story can make you like the ex-bully more than your MC, that you have tried to establish for hours, then your writing is doing something wrong.

The first time where I think they did a really good job with Wuk was when (spoiler after rite of succession)

her father died and she cried and griefed over his corpse. This really made me feel for her. But it shouldn't have taken this long and they also weren't really able to recreate those feelings again afterwards. (Though I haven't finished the story yet.)

[Sonoskay]

She currently has X-Pac level of heat right now. Some heat on a character is good, it generates talk and gives good options on how to take the character in the future.

X-Pac heat means you are terrible, we do not ever want to see you since you waste our time whenever you are on screen. The fact that they turned their flagship character for DT to that is just plain bad writing. Not to mention that she is even generating this large amount of heat should be really concerning.

Maybe, But this also just seems to be what the forum does. Like the healer strike thing, Its Almost completely located in the forums, and in the forums only. Other than I think Xenos, I don't think I've seen anyone mention it beyond "hey here is a weird thing the forum is doing right now". Like, as i was scrolling through the post, someone said they actively slammed their firsts on their desks because they hate wuk so much. and they got like, 20 likes or something. Its just strange. Like i said, i don't even care that much about wuk. at this current moment. She exists in a state of mild interest, mostly because I like political dramas, and want to see where this dawn servant thing goes.

It all just stinks of bad faith and hype.

[CosmoBabylonia]

Maybe, But this also just seems to be what the forum does. Like the healer strike thing, Its Almost completely located in the forums, and in the forums only. Other than I think Xenos, I don't think I've seen anyone mention it beyond "hey here is a weird thing the forum is doing right now". Like, as i was scrolling through the post, someone said they actively slammed their firsts on their desks because they hate wuk so much. and they got like, 20 likes or something. Its just strange. Like i said, i don't even care that much about wuk. at this current moment. She exists in a state of mild interest, mostly because I like political dramas, and want to see where this dawn servant thing goes.

It all just stinks of bad faith and hype.

Were you around when Lyse happened?