Even our content creators cannot pretend to like the trashy writings of Dawntrail.

[Voidmage]

Hot take but DT is absolute crap compared to say, the Fontaine arc in Genshin. Both games have the same exposition problem. But Genshin is undeniable more cohesive and satisfying as far as the storytelling.

And that even goes for their minor quests or equivalent "post patch" stories. Some it really hits in ways XIV's voiceless bland secondary characters could only dream of. And in a fraction of the time.

Being sponsored by Hoyo, at least right now, is probably very convenient.

To be honest.
Genshins story itself is great. The storytelling though is kinda bad and the MC is more sidelined in the overall story then we in DT.
Fontaine had a great stoy (the whale boss is trash though) and the Varshey (I can't spell his name) was extremely dark.
What Fontaine did good and what DT could learn from it though is how to write a character.
Furina and Neuvilette were extremely good written. So much that Furina became an fan favourite (I even have a keychain of her).
The characters in Genshin are also just tropes but they work in their own world and are used in it. Wuk Lamat is the prime example of how to not write a main character.

i would also like to throw Nasu and FGO in the ring.
With the lostbelts he wrote masterpieces.

Maybe it's still my dissapointment with Dawntrail but I think the writers of FF14 should look around and learn again.
It was what made ff14's story so great in the first place. I know they can do it but they got kinda too comfortable with time.

Funfact:
Did you know I have a store two streets away from me that sells Genshin merchandise. They have many stuff but not a single thing from ff14...

Seeing how it's largely the political aspect of the story that's missing and has been missing for the last two expansions. They need a writer educated in history to make the main story frame again, since they tend to a much better view of the greater picture and how to connect the dots. Now we just got the characters without any actual connections to the world as a whole.

Agreed. The political stuff was always interesting be it Uldah or Ishgard.
They really need to do research again.
My inner hope is that the mixed DT reception across the board will be a wake up call for the story. They already had one for the gameplay and at least here it seems that DT learns from past mistakes.