Was Dawntrail, Yawntrail? (Spoilers)

[PaleYonder]

I actually really loved 16, especially narratively it was the dark fantasy FF I didn't have anymore after Heavensward, as much as I adore Shadowbringers and Endwalker. Some minor pacing issues aside, I enjoyed it and I'm glad it was made; it was pretty much exactly my thing.
But now I'd be happy if everyone involved in the writing came back and wrote 14 again (a guy can dream).

[AnotherPerson]

I'm halfway through MSQ and I have mixed opinions so far (Currently finished Dungeon 3 in Dawntrail).

Was Wuk Lamat bad? No. Could she have been written better? Yes. Wuk Lamat is a good character, sheletered princess who develops and eventually leads a nation. I didn't like her much at first but she kind of grew on me to be a more likeable person. I just think she was written poorly. The story's execution didn't help either. The story's writing felt really weak at times. I did not feel as connected to the story as previous ones and there was a lack of emotional investment for me due to the lackluster writing. I did get what the writers were trying to convey. I just think it was done poorly. There's a lot of things that the writers get that we as the players don't know or are aware of, and I think that miscommunication really shows in the writing. Other times, it feels like they're repeating the same points over and over for no particular reason. We don't have the same insight because we are not the writers. Some reveals come out so leftfield that it's hard to relate. I think that is something the previous writers take extra care when writing.

The comedy and humor felt a bit forced at first and very unnatural, but it has slowly gotten better as I progressed through the MSQ. I sometimes get a weird impression from Wuk Lamat's voice actor feeling slightly monotone too and wasn't able to fully portray the emotions of some scenes. Maybe it's just the nerves, because the voice acting seems better later on.

The music isn't bad, in fact some of the soundtracks in various zones became my favorite song choice in this expansion. However, the musical execution to the some of the cutscenes felt very lacking this time around. Poor choice of music for the vibe, or the execution and the way the music cuts off for some cutscenes felt bad / left a bad taste in my mouth. Maybe it also has to do with the writing, I'm not sure. It's such a stark contrast compared to previous expansions that it became noticeable.

For example, I'll talk about 2 particular points that had a big contrast in its storytelling to me. (Trying to avoid spoilers) -> The Instance battle in The Xobr'it Cinderfield and the follow-up cutscene before going into the Ja Tiika Heartland. The cutscenes for the opposition felt just... very rushed. Very forced. I can sympathize with the plight of the characters later on, but there's not much context before going into the second half of the zone and going through half of the story for that zone. We got a claimant's one scene flashback before we went to Ja Tiika Heartland, and I think that random flashback has such a weird dissonance to us as the reader/viewer as there's no context to anything at all. Sure, we learn about it, but we don't even see the exact details until reaching near the end of the zone. There's no context until then. The storytelling felt a little lacking.

I understand a part of the reason why this is done is because they want to make Wuk Lamat learn the importance of the next zone. After all, a big part of the story is understanding. However, I felt like this could be handled better. Maybe if there were more signs done through the storytelling. All we saw was arrogance of the claimant, not the suffering underneath it. They felt very 2-Dimensional as a character only through a lack of means to see through the lens.

As for the build-up cutscene to the Instance Battle before the third dungeon, the second cast felt a bit weak in context since that group aren't necessarily with the main party (so we have only a general understanding of their personalities and motives). However, it was understandable what they do during the cutscene due to the build-up from the previous zone and the events in the earlier part of this zone. All those things combined led to a very hype/exciting moment. We understand their motives and choices because there is sufficient build up. Although the execution to this instance battle is flawless, I felt like the writers could have done a bit better to show the motives that drive this claimant's decision beforehand to make the point far more noticeable.

There are places I really enjoyed in Dawntrail. The graphical update helped in these instances make the place look vibrant and amazing.
As for the encounters and battle design, it's an improvement from Endwalker. Endwalker encounters were... bad to say the least. The fight encounters here feels much better in Dawntrail. Though only time will tell whether that will remain true later down the line.

Overall, I like the general concept of the story and where it is headed. I am looking forward to the rest of the MSQ. My opinion of some things may change as I continue to do MSQ.

[Asari5]

i neither hate the story nor wuk lamat. but i dislike heavily how everything is constructed around her saying the same few things over and over and over again while all the other characters stand on the sidelines with only having screentime when it helps wuk lamat.

and also all the cutscenes... its more extrem than ever.. where is the game?

[Faceless]

I just received the keystone after doing the MSQ at the start of Yak'tel. I could do with much less Wuk. Am I disappointed? Not really because it's about what I expected from this expansion. I'm entering into it with less expectation because this was meant to be a new story and not have the buildup from several expansions of anticipation worth of wanting to see what happens next. With that said, I find myself wanting to skip a lot of the MSQ cutscenes because some of them just annoy me, but I try to watch as much as I can tolerate because I would at least like to know the gist of the story. It seems the further in I get the better it seems to be getting so I figure it's just cutscenes that are meant to build character for Wuk, but I really could care less about that. I do find myself still enjoying more than just the MSQ this time at least. Last expansion, I burned thru the MSQ so quick I stopped after finishing and only returned to keep it with the patch MSQ. I will see this through to the end but compared to the last 2 expansions, I've had much less desire to see what happens next. With that said, I will continue to play for the MSQ and hope it will lead into some thing good eventually.

[Nighthawky2010]

[QUOTE=Vyrerus;6514715]TL; DR - Yes, but it wasn't all bad. :/? ? :| 5/10 too much Wuk

Yes. I literally nodded off several times while doing the MSQ!

[Xylira]

I'm halfway through MSQ and I have mixed opinions so far (Currently finished Dungeon 3 in Dawntrail).
...
Overall, I like the general concept of the story and where it is headed. I am looking forward to the rest of the MSQ. My opinion of some things may change as I continue to do MSQ.

Keep playing, you're not done with Wuk Lamat. Or rather, she's not done with you.

I felt generally the same about the character when I was at where you are in the story, I neither particularly liked them nor hated them. But they did come off a bad combination of a bit overbearing, naive, and needy the way they're written, which cancelled out any endearing qualities the character may have had.

Without giving away spoilers, the second half of the story just doubles down on all of the worst tropes of Wuk Lamat in all the wrong ways.

[Faceless]

A little further in, another Follow the NPC quest. Last expansion seemed like walking to the end with npcs following beside you, but this time it's like they really like making us trail the npcs till the dawn.

[MonteCristo]

Absolutely Hate to say it but....this is the first time i was actually relieved when MSQ was over...i rly nodded off several times and not because i was tired

[Vyrerus]

Absolutely Hate to say it but....this is the first time i was actually relieved when MSQ was over...i rly nodded off several times and not because i was tired

I, for one, didn't yawn too, too much. Mainly because when the dialogue treads the same water continuously it upsets me. Groans were had, but Groantrail doesn't rhyme at the start Q.Q Also looking at my clock and being like, "Yeah, I should just go to bed." While being on my time off... that's not how I tend to be when something's good.

No need to hate to say it, by the way. Honest critiques and feelings are more valuable than the negligent insistence by so many in this community that they just experienced a story that rivaled any of the other FFXIV stories. It's time like these that I'm reminded that the word, "fan" is just an Americanism shortening of the word, "fanatic." So I'm very glad to see your honest feelings.

[HighlanderClone]

Keep playing, you're not done with Wuk Lamat. Or rather, she's not done with you.

I felt generally the same about the character when I was at where you are in the story, I neither particularly liked them nor hated them. But they did come off a bad combination of a bit overbearing, naive, and needy the way they're written, which cancelled out any endearing qualities the character may have had.

Without giving away spoilers, the second half of the story just doubles down on all of the worst tropes of Wuk Lamat in all the wrong ways.

I honestly don't know how they managed to make her even more annoying in the second arc but they really succeeded. She got rid of her "character flaw" and just full-on becomes a moralizing AI who can only ever, ever talk about the power of friendship and understanding others. I seriously never felt more disrespected as an adult, but joke's on me for actually watching and reading any of the story even after 6.x.