Dawntrail isn't 10 year plan that we expected it

[Ayer2015]

While I didn't enjoy the story of DT, it did set us up for traveling to other shards more freely.

[Granyala]

Eh, I also missed it the first time. There is no shame in that you know?

We pay attention to different things at times.

Same here.
The twisted DNA like structure immediately reminded me of the unsundered but that's pretty much it.

I think there is a lot of setup here but it's more subtle than people expected.
Tural is still largely an unknown to us, we barely got a peek at all the cultures. Then there is the prospect of the Alexandria-shard world.
Though it sounds to me that it very much suffered the fate of the 13th outside of that dome, just with lightning instead of shadow.
I don't expect new zones in there like we got in the first.

[Gunz_Zbestest]

Even ignoring the content, DT's MSQ is roughly 30 hours long without skipping. If the story is not even at its starting point after that long, the pacing is objectively and inexcusably terrible.

Platitudes, clichés. Something, Something. I don't like fantasy in general.
It has been the same pacing as every other expansion. It may have been a little rushed at the end due to scheduling. Otherwise explain what you thought was terrible.

[Fawkes]

Eh, I also missed it the first time. There is no shame in that you know?

We pay attention to different things at times.

I would not have known if somebody hadn't said something. "Circle with a dot" isn't exactly stand-out iconography.

[Kaurhz]

Same here.
The twisted DNA like structure immediately reminded me of the unsundered but that's pretty much it.

I think there is a lot of setup here but it's more subtle than people expected.
Tural is still largely an unknown to us, we barely got a peek at all the cultures. Then there is the prospect of the Alexandria-shard world.
Though it sounds to me that it very much suffered the fate of the 13th outside of that dome, just with lightning instead of shadow.
I don't expect new zones in there like we got in the first.

It might actually not be so different...

From what I remember of that cutscene with Urianger when he had the elemental wheel, elements are still aspected to either astral or umbral (or dark and light respectively) - I think it was knowledge only really on the first for this specific thing?

If the elemental wheel is correct, and I am understanding it correctly, then Lightning should be astral alongside earth and water? With Wind, Fire and Ice being umbral? I've not gone into the lore nearly deep enough, but I wonder if with this it makes it theoretically possible to 'undo' a rejoining, or at the very least 'restore' a reflection.

Depending on that, then to be honest that could quite as easily cover another few expansions at the very least.

[TheRealQuah]

I really hate the DT story but I agree here.
The key is a very good plot devise for the future.

The story itself also gives an interesting tidbit of Alexandria really was from the destroyed shard of the lightning calamity (which was even implied by I think Krile and the time dilation stuff actually makes it possible for the Lalas to travel there after the calamity).
What exactly happens to a shard after a rejoining?

Is is completely destroyed or is there something left and the Ascians just went with „eh Zodiark can fix that after he is free“ which their handling of the thirteens implied.

The DT story sucks in my opinion but I disagree that it doesn‘t that uninteresting things for the future.

Alexandria isn't the 12th, the 12th was rejoined, there is nothing left of it whatsoever. Alexandria is likely the 9th.

[Voidmage]

It might actually not be so different...

From what I remember of that cutscene with Urianger when he had the elemental wheel, elements are still aspected to either astral or umbral (or dark and light respectively) - I think it was knowledge only really on the first for this specific thing?

If the elemental wheel is correct, and I am understanding it correctly, then Lightning should be astral alongside earth and water? With Wind, Fire and Ice being umbral? I've not gone into the lore nearly deep enough, but I wonder if with this it makes it theoretically possible to 'undo' a rejoining, or at the very least 'restore' a reflection.

Depending on that, then to be honest that could quite as easily cover another few expansions at the very least.

Every element can be aligned to umbral and astral. There can be astral and umbral fire for example. It's just the "status" like passive and active of the aether, like some kind of magnet poles like a snowstorm freezing all or a cold day regenerating mana for ice (umbral and astral).
There can also be unaspected aether like Bahamut and his attacks but there is always an alignement.
The astral wheel mostly talks about how the elements interact like wind and fire are opposing each other.

Umbral and astral are concepts on all worlds. The source and the first just had different meanings to them because of the calamities (umbral bad, astral good) and it was implied the source is closer to the orignial idea with Umbral being active and astral being passive.

As far as I understood light and darkness are the most likely to go the corresponing way (light stasis and quit, darkness progress and chaos).

EDIT:
Looked again at a cutscene.
Light and dark are actually astral and umbral themself. So there can’t be umbral darkness.
That was what the first found out.
The other elements also tend to be found in a specific alignement like ligtning for active and ice for passive.

I probably got a few details wrong but that's mostly the gist of it.

Where is Anonymoose when you need him?

Alexandria isn't the 12th, the 12th was rejoined, there is nothing left of it whatsoever. Alexandria is likely the 9th.

Yeah maybe you are right or even probable tbh.
Still I think there are some questions left for the nature of the rejoinings.

[Granyala]

Platitudes, clichés. Something, Something. I don't like fantasy in general.
It has been the same pacing as every other expansion. It may have been a little rushed at the end due to scheduling. Otherwise explain what you thought was terrible.

I think doing the same to 4 different cultures in a row hurt the first half somewhat.
What we do within those 4 tribes also feels needlessly mundane.
I get why they did it and think Wuk Lamat had good character growth, from an arrogant aristocat™ that thought she knew everything to a thoughtful individual, not afraid to team up Koana to compensate for her weaknesses. A proper Dawnservant.

Nevertheless, despite having Wuk's growth happen at flabbergasting speed, it does feel as if the story drags it's feet at many points. Still, I enjoyed the first half, since that was pretty much what I expected. New cultures, new beginnings.

Then the raid on Tuliyollal happened and I was like: damn, shit just got serious... so much for a "vacation trip".

In Heritage found I was really immersed and thought the story was awesome, even though it bothered me how SE handled the temporal differential. The dome existing in a separate time flow (despite being visible to us) until Zoraal Ja decides to attack just was a bit TOO convenient. Nevertheless, I enjoy Solution 9, the TRON visuals and the hints at AI personalities + the whole soul use thing and its serious moral implications. Really good to see Alisaie so very upset about it too.

What annoyed me here was Sphene just completely blocking off the possibility of new knowledge solving her problem, even AFTER we dispatch Zoraal ja. I mean WTF?! Why? We later learn that there apparently is no issue whatsoever in putting endless into cold storage until energy is available (90% of them were in cold storage already). So why is Sphene acting as if time runs out?!

And then.... they blew it completely in the last zone.

First: why does it have to be some aggravating dumb as §/(&§& Disneyland amusement park?! Jesus how I hate these things. (though that may be a "me issue", i admit)
Then the idiotic writing of "Meso terminal busy running prime95 small FFT, go talk to endless people Cahciua and others tell you are not people anyway".
No security when we shut the terminals down, no dissenting voices, no frikkin resistance at all.
Then Sphene just completely fudging ignoring that we basically eradicated everyone she was doing the whole dimensional fusion for.

Don't get me wrong: I think the story gets too much hate, aye. But there ARE issues and it's a damn shame because this whole "soul use / endless" had so much potential for putting us in a real moral dilemma.

I wonder if with this it makes it theoretically possible to 'undo' a rejoining, or at the very least 'restore' a reflection.

That'd be a no.

Once completely joined, reflections are gone and the source is changed.

[Gortys]

it is just a good feeling that my English turns u to be offensive, it shows that I can control racist people emotions with as little effort as possible

Your english does not "offend" me, but I think some of what you are trying to convey is lost. If I were writing in your language and wanted to be sure I was understood, I would use translation.

Oh, you think I'm being offensive and "racist"? People of a variety of races may all speak the same language. Did you not know this? Race does not equal language.

This is the other reason your posts will be ignored by SE - you are making it more and more obvious that you are insincere and here to troll.