Quote Originally Posted by dezzmont View Post
I will note a lot of stories don't necessarily need the main protagonist. In Shadowbringers and Endwalker we are important and special, but I would say Heavensward, Stormblood, and ARR would not be especially different if not for us. If we sat out many of the events would go rougly the same save for how our presence inspires others to act, which is exactly what happens in Dawntrail.
I am so tired of hearing this same argument. Every time someone say they don't like the story, it's because "They're not the main character". You stated yourself that in Heavensward, Stormblood, and ARR, the WoL did not play the main character role. Have you not stopped to ask yourself, if it has been done before, why were people okay with it then, and not with this? Almost everyone who finished Endwalker went through ARR, Heavensward, and Stormblood, did they only choose NOW to suddenly say the new story's bad? Can you at least read everyone's opinions before putting them all under the same blanket of "Not the main character"?

Personally, I'm fine with the WoL not being the main character like in Heavensward, but even then, Heavensward gave them SOMETHING to do. A reason to be where they were, a reason to do what they did. It also helped that Alphinaud, Ysayle, and Estinien were well written characters, and there wasn't any Mary Sue stealing the spotlight from them. Even when people complained about Stormblood, Lyse didn't steal the spotlight from other characters like Mary Sue did. It was the WoL who had a solo instance fight with Zenos, and we actually lost the first time. When we met Hien, we had time to learn about Hien, Lyse wasn't there for Hien to immediately love and worship. And when we defeated Shinryu, Lyse didn't come in to steal the credits for doing 1% of the job.

Maybe, just maybe, the "main character" part is not really the thing that makes people enjoy FFXIV's story? Maybe it's the lack of Mary Sue?