So is there anything good about Dawntrail at all?

[Anivanya]

Well, I was enjoying it until I wasn't. It wasn't that long into the MSQ either. I don't know. I'm really struggling with wanting to play. It's gotten to the point to where I'm at the last few quests in the expansion and thinking about logging in to complete it is just a chore to me. Most people in my FC were playing at the release of the Early Access but most aren't now. I do enjoy the long overdue graphical update, the environments, the music, and the long overdue increased difficulty in dungeons/trials. It's this MSQ that's getting to me. Not the acting but the pacing. The droning on and on and on for hours with no real action. It has worn me down.

[CottonC]

Idea behind the story was nice but failed in the execution in many ways.

This said, you asked about positive things so here they are: Dungeons. Music. Combat. Outfits. There are quite a few things that feel better then ever but with how FF XIV is fueled by the story, it's not hard to see why people lost some of the heart for the game.

[Voidmage]

Dawntrail has quite a bit of good stuff.
The music, the dungeons, the trials, the zones, for me the graphic update. I even liked the groundwork of the story despite the plotholes and the pacing.
The criticism is really more or less about the execution and Wuk Lamat.

The problem is that for many the MSQ is the heart of ffxiv so it being bad has the most impact on the game.

[Verathel]

Dawntrail has quite a bit of good stuff.
The music, the dungeons, the trials, the zones, for me the graphic update. I even liked the groundwork of the story despite the plotholes and the pacing.
The criticism is really more or less about the execution and Wuk Lamat.

The problem is that for many the MSQ is the heart of ffxiv so it being bad has the most impact on the game.

Pretty much. The heart of this game for me is the MSQ as much as I enjoy raiding, dungeons and all the extra content. I do harder content in WOW and my story fix comes FF(I gave up on WOW's story a long time ago and Shadowlands was a freaking embarrassing disaster, DF being the power of friendship was awful).

This MSQ has been all over the place, the quality also all over the place and I don't know if Square Enix notices it but people 100 percent pay attention to the dialogue, theme, lore and everything else. I can't call Dawntrail terrible but it's definitely ranked lower than Stormblood for me so far and that was the weakest MSQ in my opinion.

[NekiUno]

Story: It's passable (I understand that WOL might need a break from being the main character and take on a Paul Heyman role in this expansion).
English VA: If you're after bad VA, ARR is the place, but DT isn't too terrible, I suppose (it's the second-worst).
Zones: I really enjoy them; the graphic update is quite evident.
Music: The usual bangers.
Dungeons: The dungeons are excellently done; no more easy passes.
Trials: I'm quite fond of them and plan to attempt Savage right away instead of waiting until the end this time.
New Jobs: Picto has become my new favorite, and Viper is to be decided.
Old Jobs: To be decided.
Glam/Gear: I'm really into the gear this time around (I even leveled up to 100 from the level 97 dungeon twice just to get the gear). By the way, if you can create a skirt version of that, it would be fantastic.

At the end of the day, I think this expansion is decent. It's going to be tough to follow up on Shadowbringers and Endwalker, especially with a new writer and new scenarios, but I believe they'll find their footing.

[Aluja89]

The new tank animations are very satisfying.

[ksuyen]

Am I the only one who love MSQ? I think the story is great for a new chapter. I like it a lot especially the last bit about soul and AI.

[SomeRandomHuman]

Am I the only one who love MSQ? I think the story is great for a new chapter. I like it a lot especially the last bit about soul and AI.

I second this. As cliche as it is I found it enjoyable. I personally loved Wuk Lamat. When was the last time we had such a jovial character around?

The MSQ has its issues yes, but Endwalker was the culmination of 14 years of storyline so of course Dawntrail is going to feel like a step down. The biggest takeaway about this expansion is where they run with it. We've still a few places on the source we've not gone to and with Y'shtola skull deep in her research on travel to the shards there's plenty of opportunities to be had.

The overall doom and gloom mentality I feel brought Dawntrail down some before it had a chance which I think meant a lot of folks didn't give it a fair chance which is unfortunate. There's plenty of games out there that have stories handled with only a fraction of effect DT had, but people still love the game to bits. Look at Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen for example.

[Chekir]

My biggest problem with Dawntrail is MSQ, other content i have no problems with. Dungeons difficulty got better, ex trials are enjoyable. Visual with new locations and music in them are also good. Maybe the ending song sounded out of place, but other then that and msq, it was pretty good

[Gortys]

Reading the forums, there seems to be nothing good about DT at all.
Maybe it's my fault reading before even completing DT. But the negativity starts to affect me, and I'm losing motivation. I just landed in Tural, and I immediately feel like logging off, because I've been hearing all bad things about Wuk Lamat.

So is there anything good to look forward to from DT?

I would give it a 6 or 7 out of 10. You should ask yourself why you play. Is it just for the MSQ? I've enjoyed Pictomancer so far and the new duties are very good.
I stayed off the forums and all Discords when I did MSQ. I don't want to anticipate being overly happy or overly disappointed with any story whether it is a movie, book, or the MSQ.